Mr. Albert Eugene Trepte

He was the third generation of the family-owned construction company, Trepte Construction Company, which his grandfather Moritz Trepte founded in 1895, and which holds California Contractors License No. 13. The company has been in business for over 125 years.

Gene served in the United States Navy from 1943-1946, aboard the 178-foot yacht “Pioneer,” patrolling the West Coast in search of enemy submarines. After the war, he attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, after which he returned home to begin his career in the construction business.

In 1953, he married Celeste Mockenhaupt in Pasadena, California, and built their home in Point Loma on the hill overlooking San Diego Bay, where they lived for nearly 60 years.

He then embarked on a career of building San Diego. He built hospitals (Scripps Memorial, Sharp, Grossmont, Children’s, El Cajon Valley, and Paradise Valley), the Sports Arena, the 24-story First National Bank Building (then the tallest building in downtown San Diego), the San Diego County Courthouse, the San Diego Yacht Club, numerous buildings at NAS Miramar, NAS North Island, and Camp Pendleton, and several buildings at USD, SDSU, and UCSD, to name a few.

Gene also demonstrated a deep commitment to public service. Gene was highly sought-after by non-profit and for-profit organizations for his sound financial advice. In 1955, at the age of 30, the San Diego Zoological Society invited him to join its Board of Trustees, where he served for 48 years. During his tenure as President of the Board of Trustees from 1965-68, he was instrumental in developing the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Gene served on the University of San Diego’s Board of Trustees for 38 years, many of which as the chairman of its Finance Committee. Gene joined Rotary Club #33 in 1951, and served as its president in 1979-80. After rebuilding both the Old Globe Theater and the Lowell Davies Festival Stage following their destruction in 1978, Gene served on the Old Globe Theater’s Board of Trustees. Gene also served on the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank’s Board of Directors and was chairman of the board from 1972, until the bank was sold in 1994.

Gene lived to sail. From the age of seven, he was happiest at the wheel or tiller of a boat. He served as commodore of the San Diego Yacht Club in 1961, and was chairman of the San Diego Yacht Club’s successful defense of the America’s Cup in 1992. He sailed in five Transpac yacht races (Los Angeles to Honolulu), three Acapulco yacht races, and two Bermuda yacht races.

He is survived by his three daughters, Ann Porter (John) of Chicago, Dana Porter (Brian) of Lake Geneva, WI, Christine McGregor (Robert) of San Diego; his nine grandchildren, Vincent, Corbett, Clifford Porter (children of Ann), Brian, Jr., Grace, Davis, and Robert John Porter (children of Dana), and Malcolm and Margaret (children of Christine); his seven great-grandchildren; and his sister, Gretchen Trepte Allen. He was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Celeste.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gene’s memory to the Balboa Park Trust at the San Diego Foundation or the University of San Diego Scholarship Fund. No services are planned at this time.