Stalwart, Secretive, and Slightly Cinematic: The Life and Family of Eugene Kilmer

Updated on: August 11, 2025

Basic Information

I like to think of Eugene Kilmer as a man who liked to build things — literal rivets that held aircraft together, and imaginary neighborhoods intended to stitch the San Fernando Valley into something with a Bel-Air attitude. If a movie director were casting him, he’d be a mid-century entrepreneur with grease under his fingernails, a vision for grand houses on sun-drenched hills, and a private life that only flickered into tabloids through the fame of his son.

A Timeline — dates, deals, and a few public beats

Those are the scaffolding beams. The spaces between them — the private family evenings, the business decisions that looked like genius at the time, the ones that later needed rescuing — are where the story breathes.

The Industrialist: Liberty Engineering and aerospace work

Eugene’s professional name was Liberty Engineering. Picture a shop that produced rivets and essential aircraft components during an era when aerospace was booming — the 1950s through the 1970s. At its peak, Liberty Engineering touched the scale of roughly $100 million in revenue, a number that reads like a marquee in the history of mid-century industrial success. Manufacturing rivets doesn’t sound glamorous, but in the aerospace world those little metal connectors are the unsung heroes; Eugene’s firm was playing a subterranean major-league role.

The Developer: Dreams of gated enclaves and a big gamble

If Liberty Engineering was the steady heartbeat, Eugene’s real estate ventures were the cinematic high-wire acts. In 1976 he bought the Open Diamond Bar Ranch — once owned by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans — and formed Indian Wells Estates, Inc. His vision: create luxury enclaves in the Valley that, in his words or at least in the marketing, would feel like “Bel-Air of the San Fernando Valley.” Plans included more than 100 mansions across developments named Indian Springs Estates and Indian Falls Estates. The scale was ambitious; the execution proved risky. By 1991 Indian Wells Estates had filed Chapter 11 — a reminder that even big dreams collide with economics, interest rates, and market timing.

Family: private griefs, public fame

Eugene’s family life reads like a backstage corridor: quiet, occasionally noisy, often close to the action but not always in the spotlight. He and Gladys Swanette Ekstadt married in 1956; they separated in 1969. Their sons — Mark, Val, and Wesley — were raised in Christian Science. Wesley’s death in 1977 from an epileptic seizure while swimming left a mark that echoes in interviews and remembrances; such a loss reshapes families forever.

Val Kilmer — born December 31, 1959 — is the family member who carried the Kilmer name into global recognition with films like Top Gun, The Doors, and Tombstone. Two grandchildren — Mercedes (b. 1991) and Jack (b. 1995) — continued the family’s connection to the arts, with both following acting paths of their own. Eugene’s second wife, Senga, is listed as surviving him; beyond that, his private life remained private.

Money, bankruptcy, and the shaded ledger

Money showed up as both ballast and burden. Liberty Engineering’s reported peak revenue puts Eugene squarely in the entrepreneurial big leagues at one stage — figures around $100 million imply wealth measured in multiples of seven figures. Yet the Indian Wells Estates bankruptcy in 1991 makes the financial portrait more complex: a man who once presided over a flourishing manufacturing company later navigated insolvency for a major real estate venture. Net worth? It’s a variable number here — tens of millions at peak, unclear after the real estate setbacks, and ultimately not publicized as a final figure.

The quieter afterlives: ashes, memory, and a restrained legacy

Eugene died April 26, 1993, of cancer; his body was cremated and his ashes were entrusted to family. He left a patchwork legacy: an aerospace company that mattered to production lines, a failed-but-ambitious development that reshaped local conversation, and a family that produced a Hollywood star who carries anecdotes and memories into interviews and memoir. He also gave to community causes in ways that surfaced in obituary requests, including charities linked to children’s health and indigenous education — small lights that suggest a man who didn’t only invest in concrete and metal.

FAQ

Who was Eugene Kilmer?

Eugene Dorris “Gene” Kilmer was an American industrialist and real estate developer born December 20, 1921, known for founding Liberty Engineering and for large-scale development plans in the San Fernando Valley.

When did Eugene Kilmer die and what was the cause?

He died April 26, 1993, from cancer at his home in Chatsworth, California, and was cremated.

Who are his children?

His known children are Mark Kilmer, Val Edward Kilmer (b. December 31, 1959), and Wesley Thomas Kilmer (1961–1977).

What was Liberty Engineering?

Liberty Engineering was Eugene’s aerospace parts company that made rivets and components for aircraft, reportedly reaching about $100 million in revenue at its peak.

What happened with Indian Wells Estates?

Indian Wells Estates, Eugene’s real estate development company, aimed to build luxury enclaves in the San Fernando Valley but filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991 amid financial difficulties.

Did Eugene Kilmer write any books?

He is associated with a work on configuration management, though publication details and impact are not widely documented.

What notable property did he own?

In 1976 he purchased the Open Diamond Bar Ranch in Chatsworth, formerly owned by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, as part of his development ambitions.

How did Wesley Kilmer die?

Wesley Thomas Kilmer tragically died in 1977 at age 15 from an epileptic seizure while swimming.