Cam Gentry 1949-2021—Feminist, Liberal, Collector, Wife

 By Steve Otto

This is the hardest obit for me to write to date. That is because I am writing about my wife. I have written obits for my other friends, such as Tim Pouncey. But I was married to Camillia (AKA Cam) Anne Gentry. She died Wednesday night/Thursday morning (January 21, 2021).

Cam spent her life time as a librarian. She was a librarian at Wichita State University for many years and then she was a librarian at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library, in Junction City, KS. After that she went to the John F Kennedy Library at the Hutchinson Community College, KS. For most of her last years she worked at the hospital libraries for Via Christi, first at St. Joseph and then at St. Francis, here in Wichita. She has a Masters in Library Science.We both have lived in Maize, KS for the last 20 years or so.

Cam and I met at Kirby’s, a popular bar in Wichita, and for most of our lives it was  our favorite place to hang out and meet friends at. We met in the early 1980s and we got married in 1984. Cam and I had different politics. She was a liberal and I am a Marxist. But we do agree on a lot of issues. For example we both hated Trump and voted against him. Cam had always been a feminist and activist. She was also a Democrat. She was very politically active. In her early years she was a member of National Organization for Women (NOW). She did clinic defense for the abortion clinics in Wichita. She was a member of Freedom of Choice Action League (FOCAL) which shut down and ZAP which grew out of FOCAL. Both organizations were dedicated to clinic defense. She participated in the 2004 March for Women's Lives and the 2016 Women’s March in Washington DC. She was a liberal Democrat and never missed voting. She worked for and supported many Democratic candidates. She mostly supported progressive candidates. She really liked supporting progressive women.

She seemed OK with my politics even though I'm a Marxist. She liked my collection of Marxist posters as long as they had women on them. I had several she liked that including a poster of Chiang Ching/江青 with a quote from her on International Women's Day and a poster of  the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) of El Salvador, which had a quote on the role of women in revolution. There was one of the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) that she didn’t like because it had a whole lot of men and no women on it. 

She was a collector who liked Noritake dinner wear and she liked to go to auctions and bid on antiques. She also bought furniture, pitchers and glasses, including copper wear.

She was preceded in death by both her parents, Merle Gentry and JoAnne Gentry (Baumgardner). She was also preceded in death by her brother Mark Gentry.

She is survived by her husband Steven Otto (Married in 1984), step-son Ethan Otto, Cassville MO, her brothers Fredric Gentry, Lawrence, KS; Brian Gentry w- Amy, Lawrence, KS; Clinton Gentry w- Vanessa, Kansas City, KS; Sisters Marsha Hesany; Denise Gentry, both of Gainseville FL. She is also survived by eight nieces and nephews. They have eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Services have been postponed until spring or summer due to the coronavirus. At this time no service are currently planned.

One of Cam's favorite songs:

Here are some more Cam pix.

Here we are at Kirby's.

Here is my favorite death quote:

"Living is transformed into dying, lifeless matter is transformed into living beings. I propose that when people over the age of 50 die, a party should be held to celebrate, for it is in inevitable that men should die- this is natural law."[1] -Mao Zedong/ 毛泽东

[1] "INSTANT WISDOM: BEYOND THE LITTLE RED BOOK," Time, 20 September 1976, Vol. 108, No. 12, p. 38.

Clint Gentry also contributed to this article.

To see Cam’s Wichita Eagle Obit, click here.

And at Wulf Ast.