Bertie Kingore, Ph. D.
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Bertie Kingore spent her early years on the family farm outside of Aberdeen, South Dakota. Born to first-generation Americans, Leslie and Lydia, she was the youngest of four daughters. Her family moved West to Washington after The Dust Bowl and eventually settled in Wichita, Kansas. There, she attended grade school and college while her father owned a car repair business and small sales lot.
At Wichita State University, Dr. Kingore earned her B. A. in elementary education and her M. Ed. as a reading specialist. Richard Kingore was also attending WSU where he earned a degree in psychology. They often spent time studying together in the library, and in 1966, they married in the university’s chapel. After graduation, they moved to Dallas, Texas where Dr. Kingore taught in public and independent schools in the metropolitan area. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas where she earned her Ph. D.
From 1979 through 1998, Richard and Bertie with three gifted sons lived in Abilene, Texas where Bertie was the department head at Hardin-Simmons University. While at HSU, Dr. Kingore founded the Threshold Program for Advanced and Gifted Youth where she later hired Jeffery Kingore to be her Assistant Director. During these years, she also traveled extensively for consulting, enriching the learning experiences and environment for children across the nation. After 1995, Dr. Kingore focused on her consulting while Richard’s company, Professional Associates Publishing, commenced to publish. In 1998, they moved to Austin.
In 2000, Jeffery graduated from the University of North Texas and moved to Austin to begin working full-time. Self-proclaimed the “Three Musketeers,” Bertie, Richard, and Jeffery annually attended dozens of conferences from coast to coast. Bertie and Jeffery worked fervently to produce and publish a wide catalog with digital components as well as independent digital publications. Bertie depended upon Jeffery’s degree in English and minors in psychology and art. With the motto, “Work hard; play hard,” echoing amongst the three of them, when away from work and for each of them to enjoy their own rewards, they spent 10 days abroad together.
In 2005, after discussing it together, Bertie kept her consulting commitments when Richard was diagnosed with stage three cancer. She warmly acknowledges that Jeffery nursed Richard back to health. Jeffery also maintained the company’s offices as well as exhibited at conferences alone for that year until the TAGT annual conference. During the time of Professional Associates Publishing, Bertie had multiple joint replacements but declined hospital rehabilitation, opting for Jeffery to assist her through her recovery in her home.
Bertie and Richard sold the rights to Professional Associates Publishing, the inventory, and all of the copyrights to Jeffery Kingore for $200,000 on January 1, 2010. Bertie continued to consult and write, and she with Richard were contracted by Jeffery to join him at conferences across the nation with all expenses paid.
In 2015, Dr. Bertie Kingore officially retired, withdrew from associations and organizations, and directed Jeffery to remove the website he had built and managed for her: www.bertiekingore.com. In retirement, Bertie and Richard continued to vacation regularly around the world.
In 2022, Bertie Kingore lost sight in both eyes, sold the family estate in Austin, and moved to Dallas with Richard whose Parkinson’s disease and dementia were beginning to challenge him. Though they had moved to Dallas to be near their youngest son, his wife, and child, Bertie and Richard requested Jeffery’s assistance by the end of the Fall who embarked frequent week-log trips to assist. Therefore, in 2023, Jeffery locked his house in Austin and moved into Bertie and Richard’s guest bedroom to take care of them continuously and independently. He had to return to Austin in January of 2024 because his house and this business had been neglected.
In July of 2024, Richard passed peacefully in his sleep with Bertie beside him. They had been married for 58 years, and they were best friends. This picture, Jeffery took of them in their home on their 50th wedding anniversary as the Three Musketeers celebrated together.