- Date Of Birth: June 1, 1920
- Date Of Death: January 19, 2011
- State: Colorado
CARDEN LAMAR JENKINS
Carden Lamar Jenkins passed away January 19, 2011 in Denver, Colorado, where he’d lived since last July. He was born in Austin, Texas on June 1, 1920, the son of Effie Martina Williams Jenkins and Raymond Lamar Jenkins. Carden’s sister, Gladys O’Quinn, and his parents predeceased him. His wife Virginia Gregory Jenkins passed away October 29, 2010.
Carden graduated from Rice University in 1941 with a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. Upon graduation, he worked in Rochester, New York until returning to Houston to work for the Austin Company. With experience under his belt, he joined his father’s engineering firm. On July 25, 1947, he married life-long resident of Houston, Virginia Gregory Jenkins; the ceremony was held in the Montrose home where she’d been born. When Carden’s father developed early health problems, Carden took over the business and achieved an impeccable reputation. He worked as the consulting mechanical and electrical engineer on Methodist Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, the Dental School, and other buildings in the Houston Medical Center, as well as structures on the A&M campus, and beyond. As President of the Construction Specifications Institute, he worked to rewrite the building code for the city of Houston. Many years later, he sold his business to Lockwood, Andrews and Newman, Inc.; he enjoyed working with old friends from Rice, but eventually retired to his weekend farm in Bleiblerville, Texas. He came out of retirement briefly to serve as Chairman of CDI until retiring permanently. He and his wife were members of the Santa Gertrudis Cattlemen’s Association and the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. For thirty years, they split their time between the farm and their home in Houston on Sunset Boulevard. Carden is survived by his daughter Stella Jenkins Lillicrop, and son-in-law John F. Lillicrop, residents of Denver and Cordillera, Colorado; son Gregory Lamar Jenkins, and daughter-in-law Julie Shepard Jenkins, residents of Wimberley and Rock Springs, Texas; granddaughter Sara Virginia McGlathery and her husband Mark McGlathery, residents of Denver; and grandson Matthew Gordon Nicklos, resident of New York, New York. Carden will be remembered for his professional accomplishments, love of animals, coaching Little League, playing dominoes; and teaching his children honesty and integrity, and how to be tough when the world turned rough.
