If members of the Class of 1957 were polled as to their memories of Steve Kind, they would mention his being calm, patient, determined, optimistic, steadfast, and warm. Almost the perfect characteristics that any of us would want in a friend. And that is how Steve will be remembered by us for the rest of our lives...as a man whom we were privileged to have as a good friend.
Steve was an economics major and, given his father's jewelry store business, it seemed a natural for his senior thesis to have been written on the Swiss watch industry. It says something about Steve that the story he passed on to his children is that the professor's main comment on his thesis was that Steve seemed more knowledgeable about Swiss watches than economics!
Steve was Vice President of his fraternity, Phi Psi, a member of the squash team, on the Olio and The Student, and a member of Sphinx. His economics thesis could not have been all that disastrous for he did graduate cum laude, and after Amherst , Steve went to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and received his MBA. He was Treasurer of S. Kind and Sons, the family jewelry business in Philadelphia , which association benefitted several early marrying classmates with high quality wedding gifts that were received at a time when all of us were on small salaries. Since 1965, Steve had worked for the Singer Company in a number of financial positions before becoming President of the North American Sewing Division, as well as an Executive Officer of the parent company. During his tenure with Singer, he also served as President of the nation-wide trade association, the American Home Sewing Association. In 1987, he retired from Singer and became a business consultant working with the National Safety Associates group since 1990 and otherwise in the field of environmental products. Steve continued his interest in tennis as a member of the West Orange Tennis Club and Center Court in Chatham .
Steve died August 5, 1992, leaving in West Orange, NJ his wife, Bonnie (who is in the Vice President's office for Academic Affairs at Keene College) and daughters, Amy (Amherst '90) and Terry (pre-med at Cornell).
It's hard for men who graduated in the 1950s to speak of loving another man. Without any of the unfortunate connotations that our generation has with that phrase, you knew that Steve Kind loved you.
It was, and will remain, a good feeling.