In Memoriam: Leonard Buell Kimbrell, 1922-2013 meritus Professor Leonard B. Kimbrell, born August 3, 1922, in Archibald, Louisiana, died at his Portland home June 13, 2012 in the presence of Evelyn, his spouse of 70 years, daughters Anna Katherine Kimbrell and Rebecca K. Bogorad, son-in-law Jerry, and granddaughters Anya and Chaya Bogorad. On Sunday afternoon, June 30, 2013, family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Kimbrell home to celebrate Leonard’s notable life. Leonard grew up on a small family farm in Louisiana, and attended Northwest State University, Natchitoches, (1939 to 1942) earning a BA degree in English. There he met and subsequently married Betty Evelyn Davis. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” from 1942 to 1945 Leonard served in the U.S. Army stateside and in Europe. His education qualified him for assignment to the highly selective Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) This program placed him at the University of Oregon in 1942 to study the Portuguese language in preparation for subsequent wartime deployment. In 1946, after discharge from military service, Leonard brought his young family to Oregon . From 1946 to 1956 he taught English and Art at Roseburg and Parkrose high schools. He completed an MS (1950) in Art History at the University of Oregon, and an MFA (1954) degree specializing in Painting. Further graduate studies at the State University of Iowa, Iowa City, culminated in his earning a Ph.D. degree (1961) in Art History. In 1956, Leonard took an appointment as Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at Eastern Oregon College. He energetically met the challenges of the higher education academic environment, while concurrently producing significant art works for exhibitions and professional meetings. In 1962 Dr. Kimbrell joined Portland State’s Department of Art to develop its emerging Art History program. He assumed responsibility for initiating appropriate curricular offerings, gathering instructional materials, acquiring library materials, and recruiting distinguished faculty members. His pioneering efforts resulted in the formation of an imaginative program that has attracted several generations of students who have utilized art studies for supporting their careers in a wide variety of disciplines and subjects. As an inspirational and demanding teacher his classes attracted large enrollments of enthusiastic students. His ongoing intellectual inquisitiveness and professional productivity reinforced his enormously successful classroom presentations. A global perspective reinforced his teaching. During a 1966-1967 sabbatical leave to visit galleries and museums in Europe he carried out a curricular consultation visit at the Oregon State System of Higher Education’s Italian Studies Center at the University of Pavia. The following year at PSU he participated in a U.S. Agency for International Development “Mid-Winter Leadership Training Seminar to acquaint AID participants from developing countries with American social and cultural developments. In 1979 the Federal Republic of Germany invited Professor Kimbrell to join a group of international scholars for a study/tour of that nation’s art centers and museums. Knowing and working with Leonard Kimbrell inevitably afforded an interesting, often exciting, experience. His wit and intelligence, coupled with his scholarly achievements, endeared him to colleagues and have left an indelible impression on this institution. The University community owes him a debt of gratitude for his contribution to its growth and development. The Kimbrells actively participated in our organizations and we shall miss him. --Victor C. Dahl, Emeritus Professor of History 6 E
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