Rest in Peace
Jerry Kent was in many ways the soul of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy. Not just a long-serving and devoted board member, he was for many years a guiding light.
After retiring as Assistant General Manager of the East Bay Regional Park District in 2003, he devoted himself to preserving and enhancing Claremont Canyon and making the East Bay Hills safer from wildfire. He compiled data, authored articles, created presentations and gave lectures throughout the area on the history of wildfire, helping us all understand the risks we face and motivating us to take action. When we needed information on these issues, we turned to Jerry knowing he was always a reliable source.
A gifted archivist, Jerry was the main driver behind the Park District establishing a permanent Archive Program in 2022. Jerry was among the four—along with Sue Piper, Ken Benson and Jon Kaufman—who hatched the idea of forming an organization devoted to preventing wildfire throughout the East Bay Hills. That evolved into the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments and the Alliance of FireSafe Councils.
We will miss him.
