Obituary of Floyd Gilbert Kinser

Reverend Floyd Gilbert Kinser, 94, died peacefully on December 6, 2020, surrounded by his family. Floyd Gilbert Kinser was born in Dallas, Texas, on February 8, 1926. He was the second of three boys born to James Reece Kinser, Sr. and Ethel Mae Tanner. Floyd graduated from Sunset High School (Dallas) in 1943. Late in WWII, he volunteered for the Navy and finished his tour as a Lieutenant JG. He was honorably discharged shortly after the conclusion of the war and resumed his academic pursuits. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at The University of Texas at Austin in 1949. After a brief journey in Advertising for a local newspaper in Dallas, he attended Austin Theological Seminary and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1952. He married Dorothy Knox Johnson, of Texarkana, in August of 1951. Floyd was a Presbyterian minister for 44 years, retiring from the ministry in 1996. His first church was in Menard, Texas. Then the couple moved to Ray Memorial Presbyterian in Wichita Falls, and then Floyd served as Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian. All three boys were born in Wichita Falls. After that, in 1961, the family moved to Abilene, where he developed a new church, John Knox Presbyterian. In Abilene, Floyd served on the Mental Health Association board and helped establish a suicide prevention hotline. In 1968, the family moved to Nocona, where Floyd served the Presbyterian churches in Bowie, Nocona, and Saint Jo. In 1970, the family moved to Fort Worth, and Floyd began his twenty-six-year career at First Presbyterian. Among many activities, he established the Stephen Ministry Program at First Presbyterian, and the Senior Adult Day Care program, which helped lead to the James L. West Center. Floyd was active in the Advisory Council of the Tarrant County Area Agency on Aging and the North Texas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. He was First Presbyterian’s representative at the beginning of Tarrant County Meals on Wheels, an association he maintained for 45 years. He served on the Board there for many years and had his own route for meal deliveries. Floyd considered himself privileged to touch the lives of countless families over his years in ministry. He delighted in the joys of weddings and baptisms and provided comfort during illness and grief. In later years, Dorothy and Floyd traveled extensively in Europe. Floyd enjoyed playing golf, and a highlight was getting to play the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. In retirement he was a docent at the Amon Carter Museum of Art. He served on and chaired the Tarrant County Commission on Aging. Floyd is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years, Dorothy; three sons, Glen Byron Kinser of Hurst, Kevin Bruce Kinser (Judith) of Fort Worth, and Owen Gilbert Kinser of Fort Worth. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Shea Coleman Kinser (Austin Powell) of Washington D.C., Owen Harris Kinser of Fort Worth, Emma Jane Kinser of Austin, Azelie Marie Dugas of Denton. A private family service is planned for later this month with a public memorial service in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County or First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth.