Sybil Kahn celebrated her 100th birthday in August with four generations of family members and friends.
In honor of this special occasion, Sybil was presented a proclamation from the Missouri State Senate, authored by Greg Razer, representing the 7th Senatorial District in Missouri. The proclamation recognized Sybil Kahn as an Outstanding Missouri Citizen for her lifetime of innovation, entrepreneurism and philanthropy.
The proclamation referenced several notable accomplishments throughout her life including founding the Kansas City Museum Without Walls, and specifically its hosting of an exhibit of Art Spiegelman’s 1972 cartoons from his Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel “Maus,” depicting the Holocaust experiences of Spiegelman’s father.
Kahn’s role in founding the Jewish Community Archives of Greater Kansas City was also highlighted. The Archives now house several decades of videotaped interviews with historical figures in the garment industry of Kansas City, where so many Jewish immigrants got their first jobs in America.
Kahn’s philanthropy was also recognized; she recently gifted seventeen Jewish religious objects to Rockhurst University, donated by Kahn in memory of her late husband, Norman Kahn, a 1985 graduate of Rockhurst’s MBA program and later the first Jewish chair of Rockhurst’s Board of Regents. On Sept. 2, 2022, the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, reopened to highlight the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art, featuring the Kahn family’s gift.
Sybil Kahn resides in her apartment on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri.
