Springfield, Virginia resident Dr. Joseph Davis Kyle died February 25, 2022 in hospice care in Washington, DC. He was 87.
Joe was born on January 4, 1935, in Cincinnati, OH, the eldest of three children born to John Kennedy Kyle, a chemist, and Mildred Lois (Johnson) Kyle, a teacher and homemaker.
Joe graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 1953 and from Dartmouth College in 1957. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and attended the Military Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, MD, and the Army Language Schools in Monterey, CA, and Oberammergau, Germany. He studied both German and Russian before he was discharged in 1961.
Joe was recalled to duty as a result of the Berlin Wall crisis and served almost a year at Fort Lewis, WA, during 1961-62. Soon thereafter, he was offered a Department of Defense civilian appointment to the Army’s Military Intelligence Service, stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, from 1963 to 1965. While there, Joe met Charlotte (Lotte) Wehrmann, a local resident. Joe decided that military intelligence was not a career for him and resolved to be a college teacher of European history. He resigned his position with the Army, enrolled in the University of Erlangen, Germany, and married Lotte in Erlangen in December 1965.
The couple moved to Pittsburgh, PA, in April 1966 after Joe was accepted into the Graduate History Program at the University of Pittsburgh. After completing his M.A. degree requirements and all coursework for a doctorate, Joe accepted a teaching appointment at Hastings College, Hastings, NE, in the fall of 1970. In 1976, he completed his doctoral dissertation and received the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
In addition to his teaching duties, Joe led various trips to Europe and North Africa, both for students and community members. Joe also took an interest in the Adams County Nebraska Historical Society and served as its President and was also an active member of St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral.
In 1991, he resigned his position at Hastings College to accept a National Park Service post with the Richmond National Battlefield Park in Richmond, VA. After four years there, he joined the staff of Historic Hanover Tavern, serving as fundraiser and historian. Concurrently, he also taught at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA. This continued until he moved to Springfield, VA, in 2011 to be near his family.
Joe is survived by his son Alexander Kyle (Debbie) and granddaughters Anna and Erin, all of Annandale, VA; his brother John E. Kyle (Peter L. Satten), of Baltimore, MD; his brother-in-law Mark Leggett, of Redlands, CA; and three nephews, five great-nephews, one great-niece, and many cousins. He was pre-deceased by his parents and by his brother, James T. Kyle.
After cremation, the remains will be at rest in Woodland Cemetery in Xenia, OH, joining his parents, grandparents and various other family members.
A memorial gathering in Springfield, VA, will be arranged at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Joe’s memory to the Adams County Historical Society, 1330 N. Burlington Ave, Hastings, NE 68901 (adamshistory.org).
