Kevin Laurence Kelsen was born in Los Angeles, the third of five brothers raised by Laurence and Marilyn Kelsen. He and his four brothers spent their formative years in the farmlands of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They spent a lot of time together out in nature fishing, hiking, skiing, biking, ice skating and sledding. The family would spend summer vacationing in Sebago Lake region of Portland, Maine, their father’s home town. Home was always a lively, close-knit household where noise meant connection—and he carried that same easy, grounded presence with him throughout his life.

Kevin’s first passion was fencing. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he trained at Cabrillo College under coach Len Carnighan and with the Freedom Fencers Club, competing in beach bouts, the Mori Open in Los Angeles, and intramural competitions across Northern California. He hauled risers and gear in his ’72 El Ranchero, shared rooms with fellow fencers who appreciated his dry humor, and never lost his grin—even when a blade snapped mid-bout, drawing blood but never breaking his spirit.

After fencing, Kevin turned his steady hands and sharp eye to building. At first his interest was in building handcrafted furniture but then turned to finish carpentry- bringing an eye for detail to the homes he built. For more than forty years, he ran Kelsen Construction as a general contractor based in Santa Cruz. There was no website and no advertising, just a phone that rang with requests for kitchen remodels, home additions, new full-frame builds, and honest residential work throughout Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Los Gatos, and Bonny Doon. He delivered with quiet pride. He never chased attention; he simply finished the job well and moved on to the next.

Kevin was renowned for his gentle laugh, remarkably quick hands, and the rare gift of reading blueprints as effortlessly as most people scan a grocery list. He lived simply,

worked diligently, and stayed deeply rooted in the Santa Cruz community he cherished as home. He devoted time to his extended family, the "Brothers Men's Team," always striving for self-improvement, while his generous heart led him to volunteer in the community, and in the “Big Brother, Big Sisters of Monterey Bay” program, always uplifting those around him with acts of kindness that will echo long after he is gone.

He is survived by his four brothers—Kenneth, Keith, Kendall, and Kirk —who knew him long before the tape measure came out and by his nephew and three nieces and two grand nieces, all who will carry his memory forward.

No speeches are needed.

The houses he built still stand.

The family he came from remains solid.

That was Kevin.