Garvens, Kent Nashland

Kent Nashland Garvens December 16, 1936 June 3, 2010 Long 
time Lafayette resident, died on June 3, 2010. Kent was the 
beloved husband of Judy Garvens, father of Kathryn (Peter) 
deBruynKops of Santa Barbara and Jeff (Renee) Garvens of San 
Antonio and grandfather of Annie, Will and Joe DeBruynKops and 
Lillian, Otto and Henry Garvens. He is also survived by his brother 
Gary (Terry) Garvens of San Antonio, his brother-in- law Ed 
(Nancy) Erickson of Woodbury, MN and eight nieces and 
nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Howard and Ruth 
Garvens and his sister, Gail Garvens. Born December 16, 1936 in 
Chicago and reared in Elmhurst, Illinois, Kent graduated from 
Purdue University in 1959. He served in the Navy as a boiler room 
officer on the USS Ranger before receiving his MBA from Stanford 
University. After business school he joined the family business, 
Electro-Coatings, where he spent his career. Kent loved to take 
walks, and many years ago he started keeping a walking log. 
About ten years ago, he realized he'd gone a long way and could 
probably make it around the world. Last June he completed the 
24,900 miles, and his whole family walked together as he 
achieved his goal. Kent's death was unexpected. He suffered a 
stroke on June 2nd and died peacefully on June 3rd surrounded 
by Judy, Kathryn and Jeff. A celebration of Kent's life will be held 
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 4 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial 
Building, 3780 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Lafayette, CA. In lieu of flowers, 
contributions in Kent's memory may be made to the Lafayette 
Library and Learning Center Foundation or the Muir Land Trust or 
the charity of your choice. 

Published in San Francisco Chronicle from June 6 to June 13, 2010