ORNL Research Scientist, Veterinarian, Farmer
James Cecil (Jim) Kile, Jr., age 91, of Clinton, Tenn., died at Methodist Medical
Center on Monday morning, July 22, 2013.
Dr. Kile was born on February 9, 1922 in West Jefferson, Ohio. He was the son of
Dr. James Cecil Kile and Martha Dorn Kile. He graduated from West Jefferson High
School in 1940 and received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1944 from Ohio
State University, where he played football and basketball, and was a member of the
Junior Veterinary Medical Association, Omega Tau Sigma, and Phi Zeta.
He arrived in Oak Ridge in 1944 as a veterinarian in the US Army and began a
private practice in Oak Ridge. In 1946, he began working in the Biology division of Oak
Ridge National Laboratory as a research associate. His research at ORNL involved
radiation genetics and radiation recovery, yielding valuable insights in these fields of
study. He also pioneered new techniques in the breeding and husbandry of mice. He
participated as a consultant in the organization of the UT-AEC Agricultural Research
Farm, where research activities included the observation of a herd of cattle exposed to
the first atomic bomb blast at Alamogordo, New Mexico. In later years, he returned to
veterinary practice, as well as the establishing Cumberland View Farms, which included
the breeding and raising of inbred mice and purebred Polled Hereford cattle. Dr. Kile's
"mouse house" produced and distributed some 500,000 inbred, hybrid, and
randombred mice annually; they were shipped to laboratories, hospitals, and other
research facilities in the United States, Japan, Germany, South America, Israel,
Switzerland, France, and the British Isles. These specially bred mice were used in
pharmaceutical, medical, cancer and leukemia research, as well as in various aspects of
radiation research.
Throughout Dr. Kile's career, he was active in many veterinary, research, and
cattle organizations. During the 1960's, he served on the executive board, including as
president of the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association; president of the Tennessee
Polled Hereford Association; president and director of the Southeast Polled Hereford
Association, president and director of the Laboratory Animal Breeders Association, and
vice-president and member of the executive board of the American Veterinary Medical
Association. In 1968, he was named Tennessee Veterinarian of the Year, due to his
activity in community and civic affairs and participation in business and professional
fields, both in Tennessee and nationally. He served on the board of governors of the
Laboratory Animals Breeders Association, and was listed in American Men of Science.
He was board-certified as a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal
Medicine. He was also the recipient of the Ohio State University School of Veterinary
Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 1983, Dr. Kile was named to the American
Polled Hereford Association's Hall of Fame for his contributions to the beef industry
and his support of youth activities in breeding, raising, and showing Polled Hereford
cattle.
Dr. Kile's participation in community activities began with his participation on
championship inter-plant league basketball and softball teams with the ORNL Biology
division and continued in later years with his coaching several of his children's teams in
the Oak Ridge church basketball leagues. He served as a Director of Union-Peoples
Bank, vice-president of the Anderson County Fair Association, and held several offices
in the Oak Ridge Rotary Club. He was an early member of the Oak Ridge Country Club,
where he was an avid golfer. He served as a member of the University of Tennessee
Presidential Society and also as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Webb School
of Knoxville.
In 1946, Dr. Kile married Grace Spengler, of Syracuse, New York in the Chapel on
the Hill in Oak Ridge. They began raising their seven children in Oak Ridge and in 1950
moved their home to a farm on several hundred acres off of Highway 61 between Oak
Ridge and Clinton, where Cumberland View Farms was established.
Dr. Kile was preceded in death by his parents, James Cecil Kile and Martha Dorn
Kile, his brothers Dorn Kile, Dale Kile, and Lynn Kile, and his son-in-law, Adair
Hotchkiss. He is survived by his sisters, Annette Owens and Sara Miller, and his
brothers Kenneth Kile and John Kile. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Grace Kile;
his daughter, Patrice Kile, of Rockwood; daughter Deb Hotchkiss of Oak Ridge; son
Dorn Kile and wife Laura of Clinton; daughter Kathleen Cullen and husband Jim of
Houston, TX; son James Kile III and wife Tram Nguyen of Hanoi, Vietnam; son Kevin
Kile and special friend, Michelle McCormack, of Marietta, GA; and daughter Carolyn
Reames and husband Steve of Peachtree City, GA. He is also survived by his
grandchildren Erin Hotchkiss, Kile Hotchkiss, Rebecca Kerr, Thomas Kerr, Gabrielle
Kile, Angelique Ketzback, Breana Spelich, Kristen Phillips, Kristopher Kile, Kameron
Kile, Patrick Reames, and Shelby Reames; by eight great-grandchildren, and by many
nephews and nieces.
The family will receive friends from 11:00 to 1:00 on Friday, July 26th, at Holley
Gamble Funeral Home, 621 S Charles Seivers Blvd., Clinton. Service in Holley Gamble
Chapel at 1:00, followed by a gravesite service at Anderson Memorial Gardens, 640
Oliver Springs Highway.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Shriners Hospital for
Children-Lexington, 1900 Richmond Road, Lexington KY, 40502. Holley Gamble Funeral Home in Clinton
is in charge of all arrangements. holleygamblefh.com