Kent J. Galvin

Kent James Galvin, 76, of Toledo and Lakeside, Ohio, who served the local business community for 28 years in various management positions at the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, died Friday, May 18, 2012, at Regency Hospital in Toledo. He was born in 1935 in Cleveland to Theodore, a prominent paving contractor with ties to local politics, and Ruth, a high school math teacher.Upon his fathers retirement in 1952, the family moved to a farm in then-rural Medina to raise thoroughbred horses. The farmhouse and forested acreage would later become a cherished holiday destination for Kents family and those ofhis brother Teddy and sister Mary. Kent graduated Cleveland East High School a year later and attended Ohio University, graduating degreed in journalism in 1957 and having roomed for a time with Van Gordon Sauter, future president of CBS News. He jumped quickly into his chosen profession, spending five years as the proverbial man about town reporter and editor at The Sandusky Register. In addition to regular beat reporting, Kents opinion column reflected his good sense and humor as he documented intrigues large and small in the town neighboring Cedar Point and the nearby Lake Erie islands. Of reporters and the personal relationships they often forgeand sometimes losewith people they cover, he wrote, Were living, breathing human beings suffering normal habits and emotions. Most of us dont bark or smoke stogiesand have a small heart somewhere. When friends say or do embarrassing or unsavory things in their public roles, he said, theres no sadistic glee in writing it up. The majority of citizens are fully capable of keeping things in perspective, even if the politicians cant. Kent moved to Toledo in 1962 to begin work at the Chamber, where he would eventually manage a 27-person staff responsible for attracting and retaining business around the region, working with local government agencies, Fortune-500 corporations and civic organizations to develop strategies beneficial to the Toledo economy. He participated in and held high-level positions in a number of professional and local commerce-focused groups, including Director of the Private Industry Council of Toledo, Lucas and Wood Counties and Director of the Toledo Area Governmental Research Association. He served twice as Acting Director of the Chamber. Most memorably, he coordinated several Mid-American Conference basketball tournaments held at the University of Toledo, and five massive air shows at Toledo Express Airport. Held in the mid-to-late 1970s, the hundreds of thousands of attendees enjoyed precision flight and skydiving teams, walked through military transport planes and toured passenger jets at a time when many people had little or no experience with commercial aviation. During the 1960s, Kent also served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a captain in the northwestern Ohio-based unit now known as the 983rd Engineer Battalion. He retired in 1991 to a life of the things he loved: Gardening, perch and walleye fishing, wintering in south Florida and weeks-long driving vacations with no particular destination. Annual family Christmas letters penned by Kent, as well as speeches written for Chamber dignitaries, were known for their wit and keen observation. His wife of 49 years, Judge June Rose Galvin retired, formerly of the Domestic Relations court; son Chris and daughter-in-law Betsy of Delaware, Ohio; daughter Kelly of Rocky River, Ohio; sister-in-law Linda Clint McBee of Sylvania Township; and many nieces and nephews across Ohio, Michigan and Virginia survive him. Family and friends are invited to visit from 4-8 PM Tuesday, in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Avenue West of Corey. Visitation will also be from 10 AM until the funeral service at 11 AM Wednesday, in Epworth United Methodist Church, 3077 Valleyview Drive. The family requests memorial contributions are made either to The Salvation Army at donate.salvationarmyusa.org or the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Online condolences may be shared at walkerfuneralhomes.com.