02/03/2026
Monday was a historic day at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. One of its founders, Syd Entel, announced she was retiring from the board of the Sterling Society, the center’s fundraising arm. Her husband, Irwin, said he was resigning, too.
Syd is 94. Irwin is 96.
It’s hard to overstate the legacy these two folks leave.
In short, without Syd, there would be no Dunedin Fine Art Center, one of the largest and most prominent art centers in the Southeast. Its six galleries regularly feature a high-caliber mix of diverse artists. And its 21 studio classrooms offer adult and children’s classes in oils, pastels, watercolor, sketching/drawing, pottery, photography, ink painting, quilting, applique, weaving, woodturning, printmaking, jewelry making, metal working and more. My favorites are the cooking classes. The center features a classroom with multiple cooking stations where you can learn to cook the cuisines of the world.
The seeds were planted not long after the couple moved to Dunedin in 1965 for Irwin’s job as a radiologist at Mease Hospital and Clinic. While raising their children, Syd also threw herself into inspiring art and culture in our community.
The Entels are quick to credit the woman who first imagined the art center, Meta Brown, who died way too young. From her, Syd took the handoff and led the charge, joined by friends from what was then called the Junior Service League of Dunedin. They got the city to donate land in Highland Park and held fundraisers to build the 2,000-square-foot starter facility that opened in 1975. The center has since grown to nearly 50,000 square feet.
It wasn’t easy. Irwin remembers raiding the Snapple and Coke machines for change to help pay the bills. But for the past five decades, the Entels have been there every step of the way, which is why Monday was such a milestone.
The Entels had to give up their home last year after Hurricane Helene’s floodwaters made it uninhabitable. They now live at Mease Life, a great continuum of care community in town. At a recent event there, they found themselves the last couple dancing as the emcee asked those married 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, then 60 years to sit down. The Entels have been married 71 years.
It’s heartwarming to see them together. They still sparkle.
I haven’t known them long. I only joined the Sterling Society board last year, so I had plenty of questions after their announcement.
Irwin says the key to longevity is genetics. He’s quick to add, though, that no one spends more time in the gym at Mease Life than he does.
Asked her secret to living long and well, Syd looked at Irwin and with a big smile said, “He’s easy.”
I couldn’t let the day pass without saluting Syd and Irwin Entel, who have made Dunedin a better place for having been here. May we all have such a story to tell.
-- Rosemary O'Hara, board member
