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OMHA mourns the passing of Life Member Jim Kinkley

By Ontario Minor Hockey Association, 08/02/16, 12:15PM EDT

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Mr. Kinkley served on the OMHA Board of Directors for over 50 years

The Ontario Minor Hockey Association and the entire hockey community was saddened to learn of and mourns the passing of OMHA Life Member Jim Kinkley, who passed away peacefully at Trillium Hospital in Mississauga on July 29, 2016. Jim Kinkley was loving husband to Mary Kinkley (nee Breen) and father to Mark (Shannon) and Paul (Carol). Proud grandfather to Sean, Ryan, Brett and Hannah. Great-grandfather to Jacob Marshall, Kathryn and James Kinkley. Son of the late Stanley and Ruth Kinkley.

Mr. Kinkley, a Napanee native, was on the OMHA Board of Directors for over 50 years, beginning with his election to the OMHA Executive in 1961. Mr. Kinkley served as OMHA Vice President from 1968 to 1974 and President from 1974 to 1976. In 1987, the Ontario Minor Hockey Association granted Mr. Kinkley its highest honour of Life Member, and he remained an active member of the Board until 2015.

“Mr. Kinkley had a profound impact on minor hockey that cannot be understated,” said OMHA Executive Director Richard Ropchan. “During his term of service as an OMHA Board Member, Mr. Kinkley helped to shape minor hockey in the province.  Included in this contribution is the instrumental role he played during his 15 years as Secretary of the Minor Hockey Foundation Ontario.”

Mr. Kinkley’s introduction to minor hockey began in 1947 when he became Manager of the Napanee Junior D team. In 1957, he was part of a group who founded the Napanee Minor Hockey Association, an organization that is still serving that community to this day. That same year, Mr. Kinkley was the manager of the Napanee Juvenile team a position he held for three ensuing years. In 1957 and 1958, he was also the Manager of the Napanee Intermediate Softball team.


Mr. Kinkley (left) accepting his Hockey Canada Volunteer of the Year Award in 2005 with Ed Pupich.

Mr. Kinkley also accepted volunteer roles in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada) and was the Ontario Hockey Association representative on the CAHA Minor Hockey Council for the 1978-79 season. He was elected a Director on that Council and was Chairman from 1984 to 1989 before becoming the Chairman of Finance for two years.

Mr. Kinkley’s impact in the hockey world was felt across the entire country by generations of players. In 2005, he was honoured as Hockey Canada’s Volunteer of the Year in recognition of over 30 years of service to his community and to his sport locally, provincially, and nationally.

‘Kink’, as he was affectionately known to many in the hockey world, was also the OMHA’s unofficial historian, collecting, labeling and arranging hundreds of items from the province’s vast hockey history.

Mr. Kinkley’s volunteerism was not restricted to sport, as he served in the Royal Canadian Navy for a decade and volunteered his service during World War II. He continued his membership of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 157, Napanee until his passing.

The family wishes, in lieu of flowers, any donations be sent to the Trillium Hospital Mississauga in memory of Jim Kinkley at www.trilliumgiving.ca or to The Minor Hockey Foundation of Ontario.

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