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Rufus Crosby Kemper Jr. (February 22, 1927 – January 2, 2014) was a Kansas City banker, arts patron, and outspoken civic figure who led United Missouri Bank (UMB Financial) for decades and, with his wife Bebe, founded the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in 1994. A fourth-generation member of the Kemper banking dynasty, he was a dominant — and famously combative — presence in mid-to-late-20th-century Kansas City civic life. He should not be confused with his father R. Crosby Kemper Sr. (for whom Kemper Arena is named) or his son R. Crosby Kemper III (who later directed the Kansas City Public Library and the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services).

The Kemper banking dynasty (disambiguation)

The name “R. Crosby Kemper” recurs across four generations, and the figures are easily confused:123

PersonDatesRole
William T. Kemper Sr.1867–1938Dynasty patriarch; built the family banking empire
R. Crosby Kemper Sr.1892–1972Led City Center Bank (the UMB lineage); Kemper Arena namesake; father of the subject
R. Crosby Kemper Jr.1927–2014UMB chairman/CEO; arts patron — the subject of this page
R. Crosby Kemper IIIb. 1951UMB CEO 2000–04, then KC Public Library director 2005–20, then IMLS director — son of the subject

The patriarch William T. Kemper Sr. divided the family banks between two sons: James M. Kemper Sr. took the bank that became Commerce Bancshares, while R. Crosby Kemper Sr. took the bank that became UMB Financial. The two branches remain separate, competing Kansas City institutions.1

Banking career

Born in Kansas City on February 22, 1927, Kemper attended Southwest High School and Phillips Academy (Andover, 1945), served in World War II, and studied at the University of Missouri.4 He joined the family bank (in the City Center Bank → United Missouri Bank lineage) around 1950 and rose to lead it, eventually serving as chairman and CEO of UMB Financial Corporation until his retirement in 2004.45 He also chaired the Kansas City Industrial Committee and ran (unsuccessfully) for the U.S. Senate from Missouri in 1962.4

Arts and civic legacy

  • Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Kemper and his wife Mary “Bebe” Stripp Kemper founded the museum, which opened October 2, 1994 as Missouri’s first museum dedicated to contemporary art. Its 23,200-square-foot building was designed by architect Gunnar Birkerts; the founding Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection grew to more than 1,200 works. Kemper chaired the board until 2013.67
  • Kansas City Symphony. He is widely credited with helping rescue the symphony from financial collapse in the early 1980s through his leadership and funding.5
  • Agriculture Future of America. He founded this nonprofit supporting careers in agriculture.5
  • He was known as a maverick, larger-than-life civic figure — sometimes contentious, but, in former Mayor Richard Berkley’s words, someone who “had the best interests of the community at heart.”5

He died January 2, 2014, at age 86, in Indian Wells, California.46

A note on Kemper Arena

Kemper Arena (opened 1974; designed by Helmut Jahn; renamed Hy-Vee Arena in 2018) is named for R. Crosby Kemper Sr. — the subject’s father — with roughly $3.2 million donated from Sr.’s estate, not for Kemper Jr. and not (as is sometimes mistakenly stated) for an uncle.82

Sources

See also

Footnotes

  1. Wikipedia — “William Thornton Kemper Sr.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thornton_Kemper_Sr. — asserts: dynasty patriarch; split banks → Commerce (James M. Kemper) and UMB (R. Crosby Kemper Sr.). ↩ ↩2

  2. Wikipedia — “R. Crosby Kemper” (Sr.). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Crosby_Kemper — asserts: R. Crosby Kemper Sr. (1892–1972), father of Jr.; City Center Bank/UMB lineage. ↩ ↩2

  3. Wikipedia — “Crosby Kemper III.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosby_Kemper_III — asserts: son of Kemper Jr.; UMB CEO 2000–04; KC Public Library director 2005–20; IMLS director. ↩

  4. Wikipedia — “R. Crosby Kemper Jr.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Crosby_Kemper_Jr. — asserts: b. Feb 22, 1927; d. Jan 2, 2014 (Indian Wells, CA); education + WWII service; joined the family bank ~1950; UMB chairman, retired 2004; 1962 U.S. Senate run; wife “Bebe”; son Crosby Kemper III. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  5. KCUR — “Remembering R. Crosby Kemper Jr., icon of Kansas City” (Jan 6, 2014). https://www.kcur.org/community/2014-01-06/remembering-r-crosby-kemper-jr-icon-of-kansas-city — asserts: fourth-generation banker; rescued the KC Symphony (1982); founded Agriculture Future of America; civic-figure character. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Museum Publicity / Kemper Museum — “Kemper Museum mourns the death of its founder R. Crosby Kemper Jr.” (Jan 5, 2014). https://museumpublicity.com/2014/01/05/kemper-museum-mourns-the-death-of-its-founder-r-crosby-kemper-jr/ — asserts: co-founded the Kemper Museum with Bebe; opened Oct 2, 1994; board chairman until 2013; founding collection. ↩ ↩2

  7. Wikipedia — “Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemper_Museum_of_Contemporary_Art — asserts: opened 1994; Gunnar Birkerts building (23,200 sq ft); Missouri’s first contemporary-art museum. ↩

  8. Wikipedia — “Hy-Vee Arena” (formerly Kemper Arena). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hy-Vee_Arena — asserts: opened 1974; named for R. Crosby Kemper Sr.; ~$3.2M from Sr.’s estate; Helmut Jahn design; renamed 2018. ↩

See also

Categories
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