Edward George Kentner Jr.

Edward G. Kentner, Jr. passed away peacefully at home on Saturday evening, September 20th, surrounded by family. He lived 96 full, remarkable years. He leaves behind a large family who loved him dearly and will keep his memory alive in their hearts and in the traditions that he passed on to them.

Ed, aka “Bup,” was born in 1929 in the Twin Inns in Carlsbad, California, to parents who had purchased the iconic Inn in 1919 and turned it into a center of community life in Carlsbad. He was the fourth of six children born to Eddie Kentner, Sr. and Neva Sayre Kentner. They were an adventurous and close-knit family and Bup passed these qualities on to his five children, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. He was especially close with his sister Jackie, who made frequent visits from Hawaii. Bup always looked forward to these visits and seemed to mark time by them.

He was a founding member of the Oilers Car Club in the 1940s. Members would meet in the basement of the Twin Inns and would take their carefully modified cars (“lakesters”) out to El Mirage for land speed racing competitions on the dry lakes on weekends. His love of cars never faded and he restored a 1928 Model A in recent years, even bringing it to compete in a race!

Bup loved to learn. He held a Masters of Science in Chemistry and taught at both the high school level in Los Angeles, at Punahou in Hawaii, and at several area community colleges. Even while running the Twin Inns in the late 1960s and into the 1980s, he would make time for teaching chemistry because he enjoyed it so much. If he watched the t.v., it was invariably a show that was educational. Family times with his children were teaching moments, too: how to catch a fish; make balsa wood toy airplanes, “gecko catchers” from a blade of grass, rubber band and potato guns; fly a kite; learn to fly an airplane or a glider; develop photographs; work on cars; the list goes on, along with many visits to museums and regular evenings at the San Diego Opera and Ballet. He was a “doer” and a “teacher” and he drew his family into his interests, forming us all into life long learners, too.

Bup could play multiple instruments, he could fix just about anything, and he would rather make a thing than buy it if possible. The gazebo he designed for the Twin Inns, where many weddings took place, is now standing in Magee Park in Carlsbad. He re-painted and restored the Twin Inns on his own, with just a few helpers, and even made some replacement stained glass windows when they were needed. His children and grandchildren have been the happy recipients of wooden swings, stilts, letter openers, spoons, and go-carts. His home is full of hand-made cabinets and gadgets.

His love for travel and experiencing other cultures took him all around the world, first with his parents, next with his children, and finally with his friends. When he could no longer travel, he watched travel shows on t.v. and kept in touch with far-flung friends and family through emails instead. His love of travel now lives on in the genes of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bup was an excellent photographer, and for this we are very grateful. He was the family historian, always collecting and taking photographs. It gave him, and us, great pleasure to watch this enormous library of photos of family, friends, and places, stretching back more than a century, as they rolled by on his screensaver. He was never one for “stuff” but rather for the people in his life and their memories.

For all the extraordinary ways that Bup lived his life, the most extraordinary was his love for his family and friends. He had a humbleness of heart that always allowed him to let others shine. He loved a good party, but he was never the center of it. He was happy to reflect the light of others. To be around Bup/Ed/Dad/Pops was to be in the presence of a true gentleman; someone who was accepting, encouraging, loving, and always present to those he was with. He made us all feel safe, special and loved. We thought he would live forever, and of course, now he does.

If desired, donations may be made to the San Diego Opera in lieu of flowers.