Stephen Kent

Kent—Stephen Kent, 76, on January 13, 2024, at River Landing at Sandy Ridge retirement community in Colfax, N.C. Steve was born on June 15, 1947, to Maurice and Marie Kent in Sturgis, Mich. He grew up in Wolcottville, Ind., where his father was a bank manager. When Steve was 10, his father was shot and killed at the bank by a customer with a mental illness. Steve and his brother, John, and half-brother, Dan, were raised by their mother, who trained to become a nurse and worked in Fort Wayne, Ind., an hour from their home. After high school, Steve attended Indiana University. When his money ran out, Steve left school and became eligible for the draft. He enlisted and served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969, earning a Bronze Star and other decorations.

Steve met and married his wife, Judy, in 1971. They lived in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco, Calif. Steve worked and attended community colleges in the Bay Area. In 1972, Judy and Steve moved back to Indiana, where Steve earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. Steve completed an executive MBA through the University of Chicago. Steve and Judy’s son, Ethan, was born in 1981. In 1984, the family moved to Greensboro, N.C., where Steve opened a State Farm Insurance agency. He worked as a State Farm agent until his retirement in 2019.

Steve was known for his good humor and quick wit. His experience in Vietnam affected him profoundly and led to an interest in pacifism, which attracted him to Quakers. While attending New Garden Meeting in Greensboro, Steve taught First-day school classes for young Friends and often served on panels with others of his generation to talk about their differing experiences during the Vietnam War years.

Steve was an attentive and extraordinary father, which carried over to his close relationships with his grandchildren. Family members remember his kindness and “dad humor.” Former colleagues from State Farm enjoyed his open-hearted and friendly ways. Steve surprised a friend when he anonymously paid for her to finish college after she had run out of money.

In 2018, Steve suffered from a series of health complications, which compelled him to move to a skilled nursing unit at River Landing in Colfax, where he lived until his death.

Steve is survived by his son, Ethan Kent (Madigan Freedman); two grandchildren; his former wife, Judy; his brother, John Kent; his half-brother, Dan McCrea; and their families.