G. Rex Kilbourn

Rex Kilbourn passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends an hour before sunset on Monday, October 20, 2008. He was 82. He was born July 7, 1926 in Marion, Ohio. An exceptional student and athlete in high school and college, Rex attended Williams College and Brown University before entering the US Naval Academy, graduating near the top of the great class of 1950. He was on active duty in the Supply Corps for five years, including service as Supply Officer on USS Cony (DD 508) during the ship's around the world deployment and support of the Korean War. He joined the Budd Company and settled in suburban Philadelphia in 1955 where he and his wife of 58 years, Carol, raised their children. He left the Budd Company in 1976 and started Kilbourn, Incorporated, a home security company. The company grew rapidly and after ten years, it was the first private company acquired by The Philadelphia Contributionship in 1986, and continued to grow, becoming Vector in 1992. Rex served as a Deacon at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, as a member of the Lower Merion Township Electric Board, and was active in the Ardmore Rotary. He and Carol purchased Long Point in 1966. They spent weekends there until they built a house and took up permanent residence in 1986. He remained active as an independent financial advisor and consultant. Rex was active in the Eastern Shore community and in support of the Navy. He was an officer at the local and national level of the Navy League and a member of the Naval Academy Foundation. An active marsh gardener, his work at home and in support of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime museum was featured in several articles. He enjoyed the Breakfast Club, tennis partners, sailing and sunset cruises on Broad Creek. Rex will be remembered fondly in Neavitt for his tireless work as President of the Friends of Neavitt. His efforts resulted in the recent completion of a new post office and community center in the village after Hurricane Isabel destroyed the existing Post Office in 2003. He is survived by his wife, Carol Kilbourn; his daughter Dana and husband Randy Fairbank, his son Edward Kilbourn and wife Valorie, and youngest daughter Martha and husband Robert Surgent. He also leaves grandchildren Chad and Alice Fairbank, Richard and Shawn Kilbourn, and three great grandchildren Zachary, Danielle and Gabriel Kilbourn. He was proud that his son and grandson, Chad, followed him to the Naval Academy. It was a highlight of his life that he personally handed his grandson his commisioning bars fifty years after his own graduation. Rex was an avid self-taught scholar of the U.S. Constitution and American government. He was a popular lecturer at the Academy for Lifelong Learning. A true patriot, he served his family, his community and his country with limitless zeal and dedication. He leaves a legacy of honor and accomplishment. And especially, what meant the most to him, an extended family of great friends. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 2:30 PM at Christ Church in St. Michael's, Maryland, In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601. Arrangements are by Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD.

G. Rex Kilbourn

July 7, 1926 - October 20, 2008