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Laconia----Earle V. Kinsman, 91, of 21 Ledges Drive died Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at the Congregate Living Center in the Taylor Community.
Earle was born in Lincoln, NH on March 1, 1914 and was the son of Arthur C. and Nell (Minkler) Kinsman. He grew up in Laconia where he graduated from high school in 1932. He received a BS degree in electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1936, and went on to receive a MS degree in electrical engineering at Ohio State in 1938.
He worked for the General Electric Company as an electrical engineer from 1938 until 1943 at various jobs, including helping with the development of aircraft radar gun-laying equipment. This work was primarily in Schenectady, N.Y. where he met Muriel Bloomfield and they married in 1941. Earle moved back to Laconia in 1943 when he co-founded Sterling Engineering Company, which produced telephone type relays a much needed product during the war years. Sterling Engineering was subsequently purchased in 1952 by the American Machine and Foundry Company. He remained the local manager until 1956 when the relay operation was moved out of Laconia. In 1956, he started the Kinsman Manufacturing Company, which initially developed a radio for bicycles. After bringing in a group known as the Brattleboro Organ Development Group, Kinsman Manufacturing developed and produced the Kinsman Electronic Organ which came out in several models and were sold nationally. This company was subsequently purchased by the Seeburg Corporation in 1963, and Earle remained in Laconia when some months later, the operation was transferred to Seeburg’s Chicago plant. Earle was an active member of the Congregational Church, both while growing up, and since his return to Laconia in 1943. He served on numerous committees as well as serving as deacon and trustee. He and his wife Muriel received the 1976 Churchmanship Award. He was active in numerous civic projects, including
fund raisers for the Lakes Region General Hospital, the YMCA, and the American Red Cross. He received Outstanding Lay Person of the Year Award in 1976 from the YMCA.
He served for 6 years on the Laconia School Board 1951– 1957. He was a director for the Laconia Water Company in the later 1940s. Earle was a member of Mt. Lebanon Lodge #32 F. & A.M. for 60 years and was Past Master in the early 1950’s. Starting in the late 1960s, Earle took an active interest in and donated countless hours towards elderly housing communities - both with the Havenwood Retirement Community in Concord, N.H. and with the Taylor Community in Laconia where he was instrumental in the Ledges Housing and the Congregate Living Center expansion beyond the original Taylor Home. Earle’s service to the community in these areas continued well into the 1990’s, and for this service he received the J. D. Vaughn Award in 1989 from New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services. Earle was preceded in death by his wife, Muriel, in 2001 and by his eldest daughter, Constance Whitehouse, in 1993. Survivors include a son, Thomas A. Kinsman of Seattle, Washington; a daughter, Patricia Chokel of Cleveland, Ohio; eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
There will be no calling hours.
A memorial service is to be held on Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 2:00 PM at the Congregational Church, Veterans Square, Laconia. Rev. Dr. Warren H. Bouton, Pastor of the Church, will officiate.
Burial will be in the family lot in Union Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Sunshine Fund of the Taylor Community, 435 Union Avenue Laconia, NH 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH is in charge of the arrangements.
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