The Rev. Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., Award - 2016: Jim Kinnane ’57

2016: Jim Kinnane ’57

With this award, Jim Kinnane ’57 is honored for his continued commitment and service to Our Lady’s University. 

A native of Whiting, Indiana, Kinnane began his Notre Dame club experience as a board member and officer for the Calumet Region Club of Northern Indiana. When a promotion took him and his wife, Lynn, to Southern California in the late 1960s, Kinnane actively worked to re-establish the then-dormant Notre Dame Club of Orange County. He worked with the regional chairman of Notre Dame’s “Summa Capital Campaign,” personally establishing connections within the community and among club officers, alumni, parents, and friends of Notre Dame. Kinnane also helped to revitalize many smaller clubs throughout the West. 

A tireless volunteer for the Notre Dame Club of Orange Country for over 44 years, Kinnane has also teamed with the Center for Social Concerns and its Summer Service Learning Program, bringing current Notre Dame students to four local sites for eight weeks. He stays in contact with all involved before, during, and after the students’ stay. He picks the students up from the airport, drives them to their sites, and ensures they are settled upon starting their projects. His warmth and sense of humor have continued to serve as a natural bridge between the students and their site managers. 

Kinnane also coordinates the club’s participation in the annual Faley games, a program similar to the Special Olympics, while remaining active in his parish, St. Juliana’s in Fullerton, California. A loving father and grandfather, he is the full-time caretaker of his bride of almost 58 years, Lynn, who has suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past 13 years. 

Kinnane is a true Notre Dame man, improving the lives of those in need and continuously living Notre Dame’s mission of doing good in our world.