John Arthur Kley passed away on October 23, 2014. Born in Jericho, New York on October 24, 1921, he was the son of the late John Kley and Annie Louise (Upton) Kley. Upon retirement in 1977, he resided in Naples, Florida and subsequently, part time in Powers Lake, Wisconsin. A long time resident of Westchester County, New York, he devoted his entire professional career to banking. In 1937 he joined the Washington Irving Trust of Tarrytown, a predecessor of The County Trust Co. After years of service, he assumed the position of President of The County Trust Co. in 1960, and Chairman of the Board in 1972.
In 1969 The County Trust became part of a holding company with The Bank of New York. Upon the merger of The County Trust and The Bank of New York, he became Chairman of The County Trust Region, and Vice Chairman and a Director of the bank and The Bank of New York, Inc.
Nationally known in the field of banking operations, he served as Chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Technical Committee on mechanization of check handling from its inception to 1963. The committee developed the concept of magnetically encoded checks and the common machine language, which revolutionized check processing throughout the industry as well as in some other countries of the world. At the time (1957) The Federal Reserve Bank of New York described the adoption of the common machine language as having “ probably more impact than any other bank operations project in the twentieth century.” In 1960, The Administrative Management Society honored him with the Leffingwell Medal for outstanding contributions to his industry. He was a graduate of Pace University and The Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University where he where he became a member of the faculty and past Chairman of its Board of Regents. He was President of the New York State Bankers’ Association in 1969-70.
He enlisted in The Army Air Corps in December 1941. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
Widely active in community affairs, he was a former Director and President of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester and Director and Vice President of the United Way of Westchester. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Westchester Community College and was a Trustee Emeritus. He was a former Chairman of The Westchester Community College Foundation and in 1976 received the Foundation’s Award for Service to the college.
In 1971, he was honored with the B’nai B’rith Youth Services Award. He was a member and former Director of the Westchester County Association and past President of Whippoorwill Club Inc. in Armonk. In Naples, he served as a volunteer for 12 years as an officer and director of Moorings Park, Inc., a retirement community, during its formative years.
Active in his church in Westchester as well as in Naples, he was Warden Emeritus of Christ Church, Tarrytown. He was vestryman, junior and senior warden of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Naples, as well as Chairman of their Building Committee that created Sugden Hall. He was a member of the Diocesan Council of the Episcopal Church of Southwest Florida and served on the National Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Church Building Fund for twenty years.
He is preceded in death by his first wife, Florence Cannon of Tarrytown, New York. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Lorelei(nee) Wilkening of Naples, as well as his daughter, Martha Anne of Houston, two grandchildren, John and Meredith, and two great-grandchildren Cannon and Haden.
A graveside interment service will take place on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 2:30 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 500 Park Shore Dr., Naples, FL. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to: The Endowment Fund of St. John’s Episcopal Church, 500 Park Shore Drive, Naples, FL 34103 or The Building Fund, Christ Episcopal Church, 43 South Broadway, Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591
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