He was known to growl, sometimes ferociously, but the big Irish bear really had a heart of gold encased in the soul of an artist.
Those who knew Kriley best - his friends, family and colleagues - gave tearful and uproariously funny testimony to the Jim Kriley who fathered them and inspired them as a family man and arts educator. Hundreds listened and laughed and cried with them on Sunday in the Montana Theatre in the PAR-TV Center at the University of Montana, “the house that Jim built” as former dean of the School of Fine Arts.
“This is where my father would have wanted to spend the last precious moments of his life,” said daughter Meegan Mackay as friends and former students and colleagues of Kriley let tears stream down their faces.
As an arts educator and dean, Kriley could be imposing. Large in stature and even larger in demeanor, he never minced words about his likes and dislikes, and always engaged his students and colleagues with passionate and persistent honesty.
“I believe that the reason we're all gathered here today is for the individual place that he built in all of us,” said Stephen Kalm, interim dean of the School of Fine Arts. “This is the place where he mentored us, railed at us and swore at us, and picked us up to be stronger and wiser. And the place that he loved us.”
As dean, Kriley oversaw tremendous growth in the School of Fine Arts. Under his tenure, the PAR-TV Center was built; a media arts department was established; the Creative Pulse for Teachers of the Arts and Humanities; a nationally recognized interdisciplinary arts education graduate program, was formed; and the Montana Repertory Theatre was rescued from the brink of extinction to become the national powerhouse it is today.
Kriley loved the stage, loved dance, loved music but was at the same time deeply in love with Grizzly football.
Amy Ragsdale, a dance professor at UM, said she once complained to Kriley that the UM Grizzly football budget was disproportionately big. Kriley listened, but didn't say much.
“A little later,” she said, “I got an invitation from the athletic department to be the faculty member of the week (at a Grizzly football game). I got to run down the tunnel onto the field with them, and stand with them on the sidelines, cheering as the total non-fan that I was. Kriley, the great teacher that he was, had figured out a way to show me that this is one battle that I didn't need to pick.”
So much of who Kriley was didn't fit the mold of fine arts dean. He smoked cigarettes, with no apologies. He had a “good ol' boy” quality about him, and could yank fish out of the river by the dozens. But first and foremost, Kriley was deeply committed to the arts and to arts education.
“He could persuade those in the arts that rather than the marginalized beings we sometimes think we are, we are actually the chosen ones,” said Ragsdale.
Greg Johnson, artistic director of the Montana Rep, called Kriley's life “extraordinarily well-lived.”
Denise Dowling, an associate professor of journalism at UM and former drama student, said Kriley was a tough man, but let show a side of himself that most students don't get to see.
“He's the first teacher I've ever had who talked about his family,” she said. “When he did, his eyes would just sparkle. As important as his students were, it was nothing compared to his family.”
One of his three daughters, Casey Kriley, said UM's mascot, the grizzly, is a fitting symbol of who her father was.
“Many people felt like meeting our father was like coming face to face with a grizzly,” she said. “He had a look in his eyes as if he were about to attack at any moment.
“But if you have the courage to approach, and are open to discovery, you are lucky enough to see and experience all they have to offer. My father, the king of the grizzlies, was in his heart the most kind and gentle man I have ever known.”
Missoulian reporter Jamie Kelly is a former student in the UM School of Fine Arts under James Kriley. He can be reached at 523-5254 or at jkelly@missoulian.com.
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