THE PASSING OF KEVIN EBLEN
Dec. 19, 2012
Source: Monsanto blog
This fall, many were shocked to hear of the passing of Kevin Eblen, 46. Eblen's sudden passing came as a surprise to friends, family and others in the industry who remember him for his zest for life.
Eblen was a self-described "Iowa farm kid," proud of his hometown of Creston. He rose through the ranks of FFA in high school earning his American FFA degree at the 59th National FFA Convention, where he was Iowa's candidate for Star Agribusinessman of America.
Eblen served as National FFA president in 1986-87 after serving the Iowa FFA Association as secretary and president the prior two years. At the time of his election, Eblen was only the fourth Iowan to be elected National FFA president, and only the 10th Iowan to serve as a National FFA officer. Eblen took a one-year leave of absence from Iowa State University, where he was majoring in public services and administration in agriculture, to travel throughout the nation, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands representing the 430,000 FFA memberships.
Kevin held several roles at Monsanto during his 20 year career with the company, leading the merger with Delta and Pine Land and initiating the company's sustainability efforts before taking a post in Beijing. The progression of positions fit with his advocacy for solving world hunger.
Friends of the Eblens recently established The Eblen Family Foundation Fund to honor his vision and support his wife Jacquie & family of four beautiful adopted children. The fund will provide support for primary and secondary educational needs of his children.
The fund has been arranged with Merrill Lynch and checks can be written to "Merrill Lynch" specifying "Eblen Family Educational Fund" in the memo field. Checks may be mailed to:
Merrill Lynch
Attn: Tina Weisenfeld
8235 Forsyth Blvd - 15th Floor
Clayton, MO 63105
Kevin was the loving husband of Jacquie Eblen (Rychnovsky) of Chesterfield, Mo (formerly of Prescott, Iowa); loving father of Joseph, Jessilyn, Anthony, and Vincent Eblen; loving son of Don and Carolyn Eblen of Creston and left a crowd of family and friends, many of who gathered at memorials in Missouri, Iowa and China and have surrounded the family with support and love in the past few months.