Beyond being the most admired, most talked-about, most accomplished, best known, best loved, the most lionized, longest serving employee in the City Hall history of Culver City, there was not much to say about the iconic Syd Kronenthal except that he repeated and perfected all of those traits in his private life.
Uncle Syd died on Sunday at his home in the Valley at a highly secretive age known to two people, The Owner and His Maker – at least we think he disclosed the number to His Maker. Some believe he was north of 100 years old, but he would sooner disclose the code to his bank account than his age.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday at 12 noon at Hillside Memorial Park.
“Syd built the city’s park system,” says Mike Cohen, Mr. Culver City. “Forty members of his staff went on to become high-ranking city officials throughout the nation.”
“Syd’s local, regional, state, national and international affiliations and awards illustrate an amazing legacy that touched the lives of millions.”
Mr. Cohen believes his Chicago-born friend was 92 years old.
An Aug. 24, 2006, story in this newspaper describes Uncle Syd as 94 years old, making him 103. The story:
Syd Kronenthal, the mostly widely loved and longest serving official in the history of Culver City, is in Hollywood Kaiser Hospital this afternoon awaiting triple-bypass surgery. He is believed to be 94 years old. “The surgery could be today, tomorrow, Saturday or Monday,” Mr. Kronenthal said at the lunch hour as a doctor was being selected. “But it will be very soon.” The former Parks and Recreation Dept. director, who served 52 years, never actually has retired, and he has kept himself superbly conditioned throughout his life. Mr. Kronenthal did not realize he had a problem until yesterday. When he checked into the hospital for his periodic treadmill test, irregularities were detected. He was sent to the cardiac unit. There it was determined that three arteries were “pretty clogged.”
Uncle Syd won more awards for his innovative work than are lodged in any sport’s Hall of Fame.
Enamored of running, not to mention physical fitness, Uncle Syd founded the Western Hemisphere Marathon, one of the glamour events of its time.
Engaging, articulate, widely read, a raconteur, an entrepreneur, Uncle Syd was a physical therapist by professional training, and the director of Culver City’s Parks and Recreation Dept. for 52 years, longer than many people lived, including President Kennedy.
After a wartime stint in the Army, Uncle Syd came to City Hall after being mustered out in 1946, one year after Harry Truman became president. He served City Hall during 10 presidencies, and outlived all of them except Bill Clinton. He finally retired, kind of, during the last gasps of the Clinton administration, in 1998.
As historian Ross Hawkins relates, Uncle Syd first came to Culver City in 1942 when he was serving in the Army. He accompanied Yankee star Joe DiMaggio, although the reason for making Culver City their destination is, at the moment, buried beneath the dust of history.