Ernie Appenzeller Kent

Erna (Ernie) Appenzeller Kent passed away peacefully, at home, and on her terms, on July 8, 2025, at the age of 95 in Sarasota, Florida. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1929 to Irma Dukes and William Appenzeller, she began her education at one of the first Montessori schools and enjoyed summers in the country. This comfortable and happy childhood ended with the German invasion of Austria in 1938. In 1939, her family fled Vienna, leaving all material possessions behind, and began a two-year refugee journey that would take them to Milan and Lisbon before arriving safely in New York City.

After graduating from public high school in New York, Ernie attended the City College of New York, then earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University, and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

After settling in Washington, D.C. with her first husband John Honig, Ernie became interested in government. In 1967-1968, she worked as a researcher at the Maryland Constitutional Convention. This led to her appointment as Research Officer in the administration of Governor Marvin Mandel, where she facilitated the complex reform process of consolidating 248 independent state agencies into 12 departments led by Cabinet-level secretaries. She went on to lead the 1971 Maryland redistricting process and later became a lobbyist for the business community. She ended her policy career at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. When she retired in 2001, journalist Barry Rascover noted, “She gained her knowledge over a span of years that easily eclipsed the tenure of any Governor and all but a handful of legislators.”

Ernie served for many years as a volunteer at the Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center in Baltimore, and was a founding member of Beth Am Synagogue in Baltimore. In the past several years, she was very active in the community at Aviva Senior Life in Sarasota, serving on the residents’ committee, co-editing the residents’ newsletter, volunteering at the library, and playing bridge several times a week.

In 1978, Ernie married John J. Kent, Jr., an attorney, former legislator, and hospital administrator. They lived in Columbia, Maryland and Sarasota, Florida. Mr. Kent died in 2022. She was also predeceased by a brother, Max Appenzeller, who died in childhood.

Ernie is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Gary and Peggi Honig; daughter and son-in-law, Judy Honig and Stephen Robb; as well as three granddogs and a grandbunny.

Contributions in Ernie’s memory may be made to Locate Food Assistance - All Faiths Food Bank, which she and Jack supported for many years, and WEDU PBS , whose programming brought her so much joy during her years in Florida.