SAM Magazine—Big Bear Lake, Calif., Nov. 28, 2016—Industry leader and former chairman and CEO of Snow Summit Ski Corporation, Richard “Dick” Kun, died at his home Sunday after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was Big Bear Lake's most iconic and influential businessman of the past half century, and one of the nation's most innovative and successful ski resort developers.

Born in Lacrosse, Wis., Kun moved to Big Bear at the age of eight with his mother and father, Tommi and Jo Tyndall, founders of Snow Summit. After Tommi's death in 1964, he returned from the University of Colorado at Boulder to help manage the struggling resort with his mother.

Under Kun's leadership from 1964 to 2015, Snow Summit grew into a popular, well-respected resort. Snow Summit hosted the first Winter X-Games, crafted the first snowboard park, and was one of the first to offer lift-served mountain biking. Kun was recognized with several awards throughout his career, including the National Ski Areas Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. He will be remembered as an innovator and community-minded leader.

A memorial will be held at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016 at 3 p.m.

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