Richard “Dick” Hershel Kinsey passed away on January 29th, 2024, in Austin, TX. He will meet his wife of fifty years Marcia Mae Dickson Kinsey, sister Julia Welch, and parents Julia Jette and Hershel Kinsey in his peaceful transition to the afterlife.
His legacy will live on through his four children and their spouses—Michael and Cathy Kinsey, Suzanne and Tim Taylor, David and Marcia Kinsey, and Matthew and Liv Kinsey. His grandchildren and their partners—Ben and Kristen Kinsey, Will Taylor and Elena Conde, Hannah Taylor and Jacob Steagald, Sophie and Zachary Walsh, Dominic Kinsey and Alyssa Byrd, Blair Kinsey, Maisie Kinsey, Cy Kinsey, Erin and Steve Jeffers, and Justin Talley—will continue to share his life lessons and kind perspective with the world. He is also survived by his loving great grandchildren—Pepper Kinsey, Jaden and Skylar Talley, and Harper and Beckett Jeffers. Throughout his life, Richard loved and supported his expansive family, including his nieces and nephews Rachel Lendvay and husband Ray Foreman; Elisa Lendvay, Ryan Franklin, and their son Grayson; John and Jessica Lendvay and their sons Oscar and Lazlo. He will be remembered by his siblings and their families: John and Marites Kinsey, Melissa Sanero and family, Dan Kinsey and family, Victor Kinsey, Christy Turner, Maria Juliana Murphy, and Bryce, Andrew and Sarah Welch. Richard’s thoughtful, silly, generous, and smart spirit touched all those who knew him.
Richard was born March 21st, 1939, in Wink, Texas. A man of many hats, his first entrepreneurial endeavor was attempting to sell rattlesnake venom as a child in West Texas. During his summers in high school and college, he worked as an oilfield roughneck, before finding himself in the halls of academia. He attended the University of Dallas for his BA and MBA, where he met Marcia and many lifelong friends.
Richard spent the majority of his career at St. Edward’s University. From his eclectically decorated first floor office in Main Building, he served as the assistant to five different university presidents over the course of 38 years. Among his many accomplishments, he was an architect of St. Edward’s College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). Richard, and his wife Marcia, worked to make an impact on both the university and the Austin community, always striving to serve the greatest good for the most people. Throughout his life, he was committed to volunteer endeavors, including serving as Board Chair of Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Austin, chairing committees for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and serving for many years with United Way Austin.
Richard lived a life filled with joy. He smiled with glittering eyes at the world he got to take part in, the family he built with such care. He was a strong man – sturdy in the face of all challenges – but more importantly, he was a tender man. He had the magical ability to find beauty in anything, to approach disagreements with care and compassion far beyond most of our abilities, to look at something that seemed scary, and find what makes it soft and tender. He was the type of person who called his grandchildren “mustard men” and “duck people.” He knew everything. He knew how to do anything. And if he didn’t, he would learn in a heartbeat. When Granddaddy/Dad/ole ‘d was around, there was always a solution, and when he wasn’t, he was the first to be called upon for his wisdom. The obvious truth is that he will be, and already is, missed. The less obvious, but equally important, truth is that he is not gone. He lives on in the way he has taught his grandchildren to love the rain, in the hugs between brothers and sisters and the endless supply of cookies in the pantry. The deer who visit his house will always know that it is a safe place to leave their young, that he will watch over them as if they were his own, that he will revel in their glory but not keep it to himself. To be around him was to be enthralled by his grace for all living beings.
We will be celebrating Richard’s life at a Mass of the Resurrection on Friday, May 24th, 2024, at 2pm at Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at St. Edward’s University, 3001 South Congress Ave, Austin, TX.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of Richard Kinsey to The Marcia Kinsey Visiting Writer’s Endowment or to St. Edward’s University College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). Memorial gifts can be made online at bit.ly/SEUKinsey (please note: link is case sensitive), or by check. Checks should include “Dick Kinsey CAMP” or “Dick Kinsey Writer” in the memo line and should be mailed to a secure lockbox: St. Edward’s University, PO Box 2147, San Antonio, Texas 78297-9903.