Robert E. Kind; Thousand Oaks Veterinarian

Dr. Robert E. Kind, a longtime Ventura County resident and Thousand Oaks veterinarian, died Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 64.

Kind was born Dec. 5, 1933, in Herrington, Kan. He graduated from Herrington High School in 1951 and from Kansas State University School of Veterinarian Medicine in 1957. He was a member of the Acacia Fraternity.

Kind served as a veterinarian in the U.S. Air Force. He moved to Thousand Oaks in 1961.

A founding partner in the Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic, Kind was a member of veterinary medical associations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and was a past president of the American Society of Veterinary Ophthalmology.

Kind helped establish emergency veterinary services in Thousand Oaks and Ventura, his family said. Kind treated a variety of animals, including lions, tigers, camels and elephants, his family said.

In 1994, Kind was named Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year. He was a member of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church and Sunset Hills Country Club and enjoyed golf, tennis, swimming and gardening.

Kind was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest E. Kind and Ruby Latzke Kind.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Mary Lee Kind of Thousand Oaks; a son, Dr. Steven Kind of Thousand Oaks; two daughters, Marilyn Kind Reiter of Poway, Calif., and Nancy Kind of Los Gatos; a sister, Doris Hurtig of Delphos, Kan.; and a granddaughter.

There will be a memorial service at 1 p.m. Monday at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Dr. Robert Kind Memorial Fund at Los Robles Bank in Thousand Oaks or to the Durland Scholarship at Kansas State University’s Foundation office in Manhattan, Kan.