Obituary

Douglas “Kent” Dahlke passed away peacefully on August 27, 2023 at his home in Dana Point surrounded by his loving family. He was 80 years of age. He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley Dahlke and mother, Genevieve Dahlke. He is survived by his loving wife, Carol Marks-Dahlke; children, Chad Dahlke and Britta Piek, husband Lucas; stepchildren, Ted Marks III, wife Delaine and Lori Marks; grandchildren Gabriel Piek, Roland Piek, Nicole Marks, Ashley Munn, husband Jon, Teddy Marks IV; great grandchildren, Cali Munn and Lexi Munn; sister Sheryl Mintzes, husband Barry.

Kent was such a wonderful and loving husband, father, grandfather and loyal friend. He was always the most kind, caring, generous and compassionate person. Always a friendly smile even to people he didn’t know. Kent was a true “gentle”man! A real family man with good Midwestern values. He was born in Orange City, Iowa and moved to East Lansing, Michigan in his early childhood. He went to church with his parents who were members for over 50 years. He played the piano at an early age and then learned to love the trombone. In high school Kent and his friends had their own band. They were called the Corvettes! He said they were really good at playing Rock Around the Clock.  Kent always had a love for music. He graduated from Michigan State University. At age 21, Kent decided he had enough cold winters so he was off to grad school in sunny California. He took off in his T-Bird to attend USC! Kent became a real car guy over the years. He loved his Porsche, Pantera, Corvettes, Cadillac V’s and Lexus!

He held numerous positions in many facets of the real estate industry over the last 50 years including Vice President of a Real Estate development firm, Executive Vice President of a Savings and Loan and VP/Underwriter for a commercial mortgage company. He was a very dedicated employee and traveled throughout the U.S. during his career.

Kent loved working out! He started weightlifting when he was 18 years of age and continued until a few years ago. He always believed in physical fitness. He would go running with Britta and enjoyed watching cartoons or a movie with her. He was involved in all of the children’s sports including soccer, football and baseball. Kent took Chad dirt bike riding and even went out on a surfboard a time or two.

Kent refereed soccer in later years. He became a state level referee for men 18-35. He enjoyed snow skiing at Mammoth with Carol and trips to Deer Valley with his friend Calvin. He also enjoyed skeet shooting with his cousin Jim.

Kent met his loving wife Carol 26 years ago on Halloween! They were married on a yacht in Newport Harbor and enjoyed their home in Dana Point. They had a fun filled wonderful life. They loved spending time with family, listening to music, dining out, traveling and most of all being together!

Kent will be forever loved and missed by his family.