Longtime Industry Veteran Keijo Hyvonen Passes Away

Keijo Hyvonen (back row at far right) was at this meeting in St. Louis in December 1985 when the National Wood Flooring Association was officially formed. Also seen are (seated left to right): Jack Wilcox, H.G. Roane Company; Ralph Singer, Diamond 'W' Supply; Lon Musolf, Lon Musolf Flooring; Roland Holder, Gentry & Holder Floors; Harold Reid, Trinity Floor Company; (standing, left to right): Gary Reynolds, Galleher Hardwoods; Steve Brown, Swift-Brown Distributors; Art Pedicini, Geysir Sales Corporation; Jack Coates, Golden State Flooring; Richard Steeneck, Hoboken Wood Floors; Virgil Hendricks, Mid-West Floor Company; and Eldon Robbins, Mid-West Floor Company.

At the Roaring '20s party at the 1988 NWFA convention in Kansas City were, from left, Keijo Hyvonen, Bonnie Holmes and Gary Reynolds.

Keijo Hyvonen at the 1991 NWFA convention in Reno during the Jail & Bail fundraiser.

Keijo W. Hyvonen, an original National Wood Flooring Association board member and longtime employee of Kelly-Goodwin Company, died Feb. 23 after a lengthy illness. He was 70 years old.

Hyvonen's career in the wood flooring industry began as a salesperson in the mid-1970s for the now-defunct Kelly-Goodwin, knocking on doors promoting products the distributorship had recently begun importing from Sweden including Tarkett, Synteko and Glitsa. In 1975, Hyvonen moved to Oregon to run the company's new distribution center, eventually making his way back to Kelly-Goodwin's Seattle headquarters, where he became CEO in the late 1980s. Health issues forced Hyvonen to retire in 2011 after 37 years at the company.

Hyvonen was also extremely involved in the formative years of the NWFA; in addition to being an original board member he also served as chair of the Convention Committee and the Membership Committee.

"Very few individuals ever had more respect or were more liked than Keijo," said Kelly-Goodwin's John Pankratz Sr., also complimenting his business acumen: "Keijo had the ability to help in the installation of hardwood flooring, gave manufacturers advice on the flooring's manufacturing process [and] was very astute in negotiations with foreign suppliers."