Norman Charles Kayser

Norman Charles Kayser, age 87, of Estero, Florida, died on Monday, September 5, 2022, at Joanne’s House at Hope Hospice, Bonita Springs, Florida. He grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, but spent almost fifty years of his adult life in the Greater Hartford, Connecticut, area attending college and working. Since 1962, he had been employed by R. C. Knox and Company, a major Hartford based insurance and risk management firm, having been President and then Chairman from 1982 to 2000. Prior to joining R. C. Knox, he was employed by the Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, and while there, he attended the Aetna Home Office School For Agents where he graduated number one in his class. Norm also served as a Special Agent with the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations attaining the rank of Captain. A 1957 graduate of Trinity College, he was a very active alumnus having served as President of the Trinity Club of Hartford, Secretary of the National Alumni Association, Class Agent, a member of the Board of Fellows, Chairman of the Business and Industry Associates, and in 1973 was recognized with a 150th Anniversary Award. In that same year, the Trinity Club of Hartford named him “Man of the Year.” In 1982, he was the recipient of the Trinity College Alumni Medal of Honor. In 2000, he funded the building of the “Kayser Study Room” in the library expansion, and in 2007, he established the “Norman C. Kayser ’57 Scholarship Fund.” In Connecticut, Norm had previously been a member of the Country Club of Farmington, the Hartford Tennis Club, and the Red Oak Hill Swimming and Tennis Club where he is a past president. In Estero, he was a member of the West Bay Golf Club. Active in insurance industry affairs, Norm was also a past president of the Connecticut Chapter Society for Property and Casualty Underwriters and past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Hartford. He served as treasurer of the Kidney Foundation of Connecticut and had been a board member of the Channel 3 Country Camp and the Connecticut Valley Girl Scout Council. He was a corporator of Hartford Hospital. Previously he had been a corporator of the Institute of Living and the Hartford Seminary. A longtime member of Saint James’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, he served as a Vestryman and for ten years as Chairman of the Endowment Investment Committee. After retiring to Florida, Norm served on the Board of Directors of the Bonita Bay Horizons Condominium Association and on the Board of Directors of the Jasmine Bay South Condominium Association. A strong believer in professionalism within the insurance industry, he attained the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 1964 and the Associate In Risk Management (ARM) designation in 1974. In 1994, he was honored by the National Society of CPCU being named a “Standard Setter” in recognition of his thirty years of promoting professionalism and mentoring others pursuing the CPCU designation. An avid sportsman, Norm played tennis for much of his adult life and was the winner of several tennis titles while a member of Red Oak Hill Tennis Club. Later in life, he took up golf, and while he struggled to master the game, he was especially proud that he had four holes-in-one. During the winter, he enjoyed skiing with his family and friends at Quechee Lakes and Stratton Mountain, Vermont, and in Park City, Utah. He traveled extensively in the United States and Europe, but always looked forward to revisiting two of his favorite places, Woodstock, Vermont, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Norm is survived by his wife of almost 65 years, Joan G. Kayser, of Estero, Florida; his two daughters, Lynne K. Parrott of Houston, Texas, and Lee K. Szaroleta, of Fleming Island, Florida, and his son, Steven C. Kayser, of London, England, and their spouses. He is also survived by his two grandchildren, Jillian and Benjamin Szaroleta, and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sister, June C. Minor, of East Northport, New York. Memorial donations may be made to the Norman C. Kayser ’57 Scholarship Fund at Trinity College or to Saint James’s Episcopal Church Endowment Fund. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at 2:00 PM at Saint James’s Episcopal Church 19 Walden St., West Hartford, CT with The Rev. Robert Hooper, officiating. To sign his guest register or to leave online condolences please visit www.ShikanyFuneralHome.com. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home and Crematory Family Owned and Operated Since 1978.

Norman Charles Kayser

August 4, 1935 - September 5, 2022