John Kimball Obituary

JOHN GRIFFITH KIMBALL Local Hawaii real estate developer, John Kimball, died peacefully in Aiea Heights on Tuesday, December 3rd, surrounded by his wife and family. He was 77 years old. Born in Ft Madison, Iowa, the third of four children of Ed and Ruth Kimball. He enjoyed outdoor exploring, hiking and sports, and lettered in track in high school. He went to the University of Iowa, Texas Wesleyan and Missouri State colleges and spent his summers running a youth development program with the YMCA in his hometown. He earned a Bachelor degree in Sociology in 1971 and moved to Chicago to start his career. He taught developmentally disabled kids for a few years before finding his dream job with Cartan Travel. He was transferred to Hawaii where he managed tour groups in Hawaii and to Mexico, Europe and Asia. After 6 years of luxury travel, he got serious about his future and started a solar hot water company in Hawaii, Central Pacific Solar. After years in the solar business, international tour managing beckoned to him once more and he spent the next eleven years traveling the world, again. John returned to Hawaii in 1992 and began a 30 year career in real estate development and management. In 2011 John got married for the first time, to Carol Gronseth in Las Vegas. They lived happily in Aiea Heights and travelled extensively until his death. John is survived by his wife, Carol, two brothers, Jim and Tom, two step daughters, Kristina Gronseth and Kimberly Nepsa, four grandsons, Brandon, Ryan, and Jaiden Nepsa, and Kylan Reisberg, and much-loved nieces and nephews. He was an intelligent, kind, generous, honest man and lived a good life. A Celebration of Life is being planned for sometime next year.