John R Kimberly

John R. "Jack" Kimberly, 89, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Kimberly-Clark Corp., died of cardiovascular disease Dec. 20 1992 at his home in Easton, Md. He had lived in Easton since 1960. Mr. Kimberly was the grandson of John A. Kimberly, one of four founders of Kimberly-Clark, a paper products company that produces Kleenex tissue and Huggies disposable diapers. He was born in Neenah, Wis., where the company was then based. It since has moved its worldwide headquarters to Dallas. His first wife, the former Elizabeth Essick, and their daughter, Josephine Kimberly Peterson, died in 1978. Survivors include his wife, the former Anne Jones Morton of Easton; three sons from his first marriage, John R. Kimberly Jr. of Issaquah, Wash., William E. Kimberly of Arlington and Richard H. Kimberly of McLean; a stepson, David C. Morton of San Francisco; a stepdaughter, Anne Morton Wyman of Easton; a sister, Geraldine Carpenter of Wayzata, Minn.; a brother, James H. Kimberly of West Palm Beach, Fla.; 13 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Kimberly joined the operations division of Kimberly-Clark in 1924. He became president of the company in 1953 and chairman of the board and chief executive officer in 1955. He retired in 1968, but continued to serve on the company's board of directors until 1977.