Born in Reading, she was the daughter of Alvin W. Kissinger and Miriam (Salt) Kissinger. She was the widow of William F. Kinkaid, Jr., who died in 1968. Surviving are two sons, David A. Kinkaid, Fort Wayne, IND, and William P. Kinkaid, Tremont, PA.
Ethel was educated in Reading public schools, graduating from Reading High School in 1939. The next year she attended Reading Business Institute. During WWII, she enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and served from 1943 to 1946. With the GI Bill she earned a BS in Education from Indiana State Teachers College in 1950.
She then taught in the Reading School District at Glenside, Tyson-Schoener, Charles Foos, and Northwest Elementary Schools until retiring in 1979.
She was a devoted member of First Presbyterian Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher, a deacon, a long-time participant in the choir and later the bell choir, and a member of Young at Heart. She enjoyed singing in the chorus of a number of Reading Civic Opera productions. For two summers she worked at the Grand Canyon, AZ.
Also surviving are a grandson, William P. Kinkaid, Jr. (husband of Meghan); a great-grandson, William F. Kinkaid; and four nieces and a nephew. She was predeceased by a sister, Isabel Noga, and a brother, Charles Kissinger.
Services will be private at the convenience of the family, with burial at Forest Hills Memorial Park. Contributions may be made in Ethel's memory to the First Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 37 South Fifth Street, Reading, PA 19602.
