Ron Sydnor, a Marine veteran who became the first Black manager of the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in Fairview in 2010, has died at the age of 67.
Sydnor managed the park from 2010 until his retirement in 2017 and spent part of that time also managing Lake Malone State Park in Muhlenberg County.
He spent 22 years in the Marines and was a former assistant director of the local Boys and Girls Club.
He was also a deacon and Sunday school teacher at St. Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Sydnor maintained all of the regular programming at the park in Fairview and added new events such as a July 4 celebration.
In one of his final duties, he planned and organized festivities around the 2017 total solar eclipse that brought hundreds of people to the park.
Sydnor is survived by his three daughters.
Funeral services will be 12:30 p.m. Monday at Gamble Funeral Home, with burial to follow in Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West. Visitation will be from 11:30 until the service hour.