Kyle was born in 1926 and grew up in Columbus, Ga. He died there July 12, 2015, at age 88.
A Navy veteran, Kyle was a principal in a securities firm, then joined and later became chairman of Columbus Bank and Trust Co. He was a very active participant in civic projects and organizations, especially those concerned with historical and environmental preservation. Kyle was the first significant campaigner for efforts to curb wastewater pollution of the Upper Chattahoochee River in Georgia and a co-founder of Trees Columbus. He also established the Spencer Environmental Center, which occupies a historic Spencer family house in downtown Columbus and provides offices for a number of organizations concerned with local environmental preservation and management.
Jim and his late wife of 52 years, Sara Davis Spencer, were ardent supporters of Columbus State University. They started the Spencer Oxford Program, which has provided more than 600 scholarships for Columbus students at Oxford University, and established a residential Spencer House at Oxford.
Sara and their daughter, Louise, predeceased him. Jim is survived by three sons, James Spencer Jr., Tracy, and Richard ’88; and nine grandchildren, including Elizabeth ’18.