SALT LAKE CITY — The founder of a South Salt Lake outdoor store and creator of the Springbar tent, Jack Kirkham, has died. He was 89.

Kirkham died Sunday at his home in Sandy, one day before his 90th birthday. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Born in Lehi, Kirkham served in the U.S. military during World War II, working as a draftsman in a Long Beach, Calif., shipyard.

He returned to Salt Lake City in 1944 and bought the AAA Tent and Awning company, launching a thriving business later known as Kirkham’s Outdoor Products.

Son Jack Kirkham Jr. called his father an “ingenious inventor,” who was “never really was much of a camper. Still, the senior Kirkham experimented with tent designs and patented the canvas Springbar tent at a time when recreation was becoming popular.

“The Springbar definitely simplified things. The simplicity really made camping more accessible to a lot more people,” said his son, who took over the business in 1990.

Kirkham eventually held eight tent patents, including one for developing the modular concept of adding tent “rooms” to fit a family’s size and needs.