E. Christian Stengel, known as Chris, died peacefully after a brief hospitalization on August 4, 2020, at Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida. He was 85 years old.

A hotel owner, investor and former senior executive at Marriott, Chris enjoyed a long career in the Washington, D.C. area before moving to Florida full-time in 1987.

Chris was hired by Bill Marriott in 1960 and spent a decade opening and managing Marriott Hotels, including the Key Bridge and Twin Bridges properties in Washington, D.C., before branching out on his own. Chris learned the hotel business from his father Vincent J. Coyle who as a NYC hotelier helped build and then manage the Carlyle Hotel and later managed the Hampshire House and the Essex House.

Chris was known for his life-long friendships and was always ready with help or advice to anyone in his wide group of friends. Above all, Chris was a loving family man; his daughter Christina and her two children, Chloe and AJ, were the pride of his life, as were his ten nieces and nephews. And Chris was passionate about his dogs. His most recent 'son' was a beloved yellow lab named Half-Time.

On any given weekend in the fall, you knew where to find Chris; on Saturdays he'd be home watching college football and on Sundays he'd settle in for an afternoon and evening of NFL action. He was a voracious reader: three newspapers a day plus mysteries and political thrillers, always in hard cover. Chris loved modern art, a hobby he honed and pursued his entire life. He was an engaging storyteller often regaling his friends and family with his numerous exploits and experiences. And always with a cigar in hand.

He was a long-time member of Adios Golf Club in Coconut Creek as well as Boca Grove Golf and Tennis Club, both in Florida.

Winston Churchill once said of himself, "I am not a pillar of the church. I am more of a flying buttress: I support it from the outside." Similarly, it could be said that Chris did not subscribe in full to all tenets of traditional convention. His devout sister, however, agreed that Chris possessed gifts of discipline and discernment. Chris in his generosity and strength exemplified the virtue of magnanimity, or greatness of soul.

Edwin Christian Stengel was born on November 1, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey to Edwin C. Stengel and Dorothy Knoepke Stengel (Coyle). Chris' parents divorced when he was five and he and his sister Lois moved to Short Hills, N.J., where his mother Dorothy met and married Vincent J. Coyle, father to Vince and Christina, in 1941. The family resided in Short Hills for the next 25 years. Chris attended the New York Military Academy and Blair Academy as well as The Lawrenceville School. He then attended Duke University on a tennis scholarship. Chris served two years in the armed forces as manager of the Gajoen Hotel in Tokyo Japan and later attended Boston University.

Chris is survived by his loving daughter, Christina Kay Stengel of Chicago, IL and two grandchildren Chloe Kay and Anthony Joseph. Chris is also survived by his loving family of nieces and nephews: Sheila 'Sky' Williams, Carolyn Cordill (Stephen), Stephen O'Connell (Eileen), Christopher O'Connell (Beth), Susan Doherty (Kelly), Kathryn O'Connell, Ann Heaney (Joe), Cathy Coyle, John Coyle (Genny) and Mary Lower (Chris) as well as his sister-in-law, Joanne Coyle and brother-in-law, Edward Duggan. Chris was predeceased by his beloved siblings, Lois Williams, Vincent Coyle, and Christina O'Connell-Duggan. Chris also leaves behind his dedicated housekeeper of 27 years, Elizabeth Maldonado, and his loyal dog, Half-Time.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Chesed Foundation Inc. a local nonprofit animal rescue. Click here to be taken directly to their website.

Following a private family service, Chris will be buried with his parents and sister at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.