Ray Klinginsmith, the 2010-11 Rotary International president who made it his focus to help clubs become bigger, better, and bolder, has died at the age of 86.
Klinginsmith first became involved with Rotary in 1960 when he was a Rotary Scholar to South Africa, an opportunity sponsored by his hometown club, the Rotary Club of Unionville, Missouri, USA. It was during his eventful year in Cape Town that he first heard the phrase “wind of change,” which referenced the rapid advances in society and would go on to shape his thinking about Rotary’s need to adapt.
His presidential theme in 2010-11, Building Communities — Bridging Continents, sought to capture what Rotary is best at doing and what it needed to continue to do to embrace change in the world.
“These four words aptly reflect who we are and what we do as Rotarians,” said Klinginsmith at the 2010 International Assembly for incoming district leaders. “We are a unique and a premier organization, certainly one of the best in the world. We build the spirit and resources of our local communities in an important way.”
He added, “There are only a few who may not agree that Rotary is the best in the world at linking people of goodwill around the globe and then gaining their cooperation and support to make the world a much better place to live and work.”
Klinginsmith also talked about the need to make clubs bigger, better, and bolder, reflecting his belief that it was the clubs that improve lives.
“More than anything, Ray was an amazing agent for change,” said Tom Thorfinnson, former chief strategy officer for Rotary International and RI vice president during Klinginsmith’s term. “He really felt Rotary needed to continue to evolve and adjust and look at new ways to move forward.”
Thorfinnson also remembered Klinginsmith as being a hard worker. “I’d have emails waiting at 5 a.m. And after board meetings, we would hang around and work on things for a couple hours.”
Klinginsmith joined Rotary in 1961 and was a member of the Rotary clubs of Unionville and Macon, Missouri, before joining the Rotary Club of Kirksville, Missouri, in 1974. He served on the RI Board of Directors from 1985-87 and was a trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 2002-06 and again from 2012-16. He was trustee chair in 2015-16. He was the first Rotary Foundation program alumnus to become RI president.
He received The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service in 1983-84 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1995-96. He and his wife, Judie, were Major Donors, members of the Bequest Society, and Paul Harris Fellows.
Klinginsmith received his law degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and practiced law in Macon and Kirksville for more than 50 years. He also served as general counsel, dean of administration, and business professor at Truman State University in Missouri. He was the founding member and first president of the Chariton Valley Association, a nonprofit that provides services to people with developmental disabilities in northeast Missouri.
In a July 2010 article in The Rotarian (now Rotary magazine), Ralph Cupelli, a past president of the Kirksville club, reflected on Klinginsmith’s dedication to supporting those with disabilities and his tireless approach to problem-solving. Cupelli noted that when Ray and his wife could not find adequate services for their developmentally disabled son, Ray worked to implement laws and establish the Chariton Valley Association.
“That is his modus operandi: See a problem, figure out an action you can take to solve it, and work on it until it is solved,” Cupelli said.
Klinginsmith himself was fond of using the phrase “cowboy logic” to explain his simple approach to problem-solving, taken from country singer Michael Martin Murphey’s song by the same title. At the 2010 assembly, Klinginsmith entertained incoming leaders with versions of the song and his interpretations of its application to Rotary.
Outside Rotary, Klinginsmith served as a board member and president of the Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America, as president of the Macon Chamber of Commerce and the Macon Public Library, and as a lay speaker for the First United Methodist Church in Kirksville.
Klinginsmith was preceded in death by his wife, Judie. He is survived by his son, Kurt, of Kirksville, Missouri; his daughter, Leigh, and her husband, Bob Perkins, of Liberty, Missouri; and grandchildren Morgan (Perkins) Dawson, Sydney Perkins, and Grant Perkins. Memorial contributions may be made to the Truman State University Foundation, 100 E. Normal Ave., Kirksville, MO, 63501 (write “Ray & Judie Klinginsmith Nursing Scholarship Fund” in the memo line), or online.
— Arnold R. Grahl