The Reverend Dr. George Henry Kuykendall Jr., of Haddonfield, New Jersey, passed away on June 16, 2026, at the age of 81, with his beloved wife, Joyce, by his side.

George was born on July 3, 1944, in Mocksville, North Carolina, to George and Jane Kuykendall. He grew up in Charlotte with his sister Jane and graduated from Davidson College. He later earned a Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) in Systematic Theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. In 1967, George married Joyce Bynum in Atlanta. They shared fifty-nine years of marriage.

George’s early years at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC, were formative. He was baptized and confirmed, and later mentored by the Rev. Dr. Daniel Durway. Early ministry experiences during the tumultuous late 1960s resulted in lifelong friendships, influenced George’s call to seminary, and shaped his enduring academic passion. 

George’s life was marked by faith, learning, and teaching. Over the course of his career, he taught and served in a variety of settings, including St. Mary’s Seminary, St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute, Fordham University, Suffern Presbyterian Church, Collingswood Presbyterian Church, and Cape May County Technical School. He loved teaching best, and he brought to it a deep seriousness about ideas, language, faith, and the life of the mind.

Those who knew him also knew his tenderness, his gentle delight in children, his affection for his family, and his capacity to be moved by the people he loved. He was a cyclist, a devoted fan of the Phillies and Eagles, and a lover of music and stories. He enjoyed Willie Nelson, The Lord of the Rings, John le Carré, and good conversation. He will be remembered for his intelligence, wit, curiosity, and the pleasure he took in thinking carefully about things that mattered.

George is survived by his wife, Joyce Bynum Kuykendall; his children, Scott Kuykendall and his wife Leah, Kathleen Kuykendall Aiello and her husband Dave, John Kuykendall and his wife Meg, and Mary Dowds and her husband Tom; his grandchildren, Benjamin and Addison Kuykendall, Jimmy and Peter Aiello, Isaac Kuykendall, John and Noah Dowds; and his sister, Jane Kuykendall. He was predeceased by his parents, George and Jane Kuykendall.

A visitation will be held Monday, June 29, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Foster-Warne Funeral Home, 820 Haddon Ave., Collingswood, New Jersey. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held Tuesday, June 30, 11:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 28 7th Ave., Haddon Heights, New Jersey. Interment private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (https://imaginationlibrary.com) or World Bicycle Relief (https://worldbicyclerelief.org).    

In life and in death we belong to God. Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve. With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (From A Brief Statement of Faith, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), adopted in 1991.)