Louise G. Kent's Obituary
On January 6, 2016, Louise G. Kent was welcomed into Heaven after a long and fulfilling life of 94½ years. Born at her family home in Westlake, Louisiana on May 10, 1921, Louise passed away peacefully at her home in Dallas, Texas after a brief illness, attended by her loving husband, Keith Kent, family members and her devoted caregiver Jamilla Khalf. Louise was raised in De Quincy, Louisiana, where she graduated as valedictorian of her 1938 high school class, edging out her future husband-to-be Keith Kent, who was the class salutatorian. She attended Baylor University, from which she graduated with a bachelor of music degree in 1942. After graduating from Baylor, Louise worked for Baptist churches in Kingsville, Texas and Corsicana, Texas while she waited for her sweetheart, Keith, to return safely home from service as a B-17 waist gunner in the European Theater of World War II. After their marriage in December 1944, Keith and Louise lived in their hometown of De Quincy for several years, and welcomed their two oldest sons, Stephen and Craig, into that hometown household. With the benefit of the GI bill, Keith and Louise moved to Austin, Texas, where Keith earned a Master’s Degree in Professional Accountancy from the University of Texas, and Louise learned to raise two young boys on a graduate student’s budget. Keith and Louise then moved to Shreveport, Louisiana in 1952, where they lived for 25 years, adding three more boys to their growing family. During those years, Louise was an ever-present volunteer in the public schools and church as her sons participated in sports, band, debate, choir, Scouts and other activities. Gifted with a talent for organization, Louise was regularly called upon to chair committees, run service projects and lead fundraising drives, tasks she accepted with enthusiasm, energy and effectiveness. Her commitment to service and dedication to others was recognized with an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award by the Louisiana PTA. They moved to Waco in 1977 when their younger sons were attending Baylor University. There, Louise was the Executive Director of the Central Texas Chapter of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and one of the early Directors of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church’s Neighbors International program, a ministry dedicated to helping foreign-born internationals adjust to life in the United States in a Christian environment. She and Keith loved to travel and were steadfast and loyal fans of the Baylor football and basketball teams. With four sons’ having attended their mother’s alma mater of Baylor, Keith and Louise’s home in Waco became the “Kent Hotel” during college football season. Blessed with the arrival of numerous grandchildren, Louise took on the role of Waco Tour Guide and Swim Coach, as the grandchildren explored all the corners of Waco Lions Park and learned to swim in the neighborhood pool. When Keith retired in the early 1990’s, they moved to Dallas, where two of their sons lived. There, they continued to indulge their love of travel, taking tours through the Eastern Seaboard, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, Glacier National Park, the Panama Canal and other exotic locales. And their home became the new focus of family activities and gatherings, particularly with the backyard swimming pool, where grandchildren played and the great-grandchildren learned to swim under the watchful eyes of “Mama Lou” and “Daddy Keith.” Three of the great constants in Louise’s life were music, faith and family. She was possessed of a beautiful voice. At Baylor, her favorite professor, Dr. A.J. Armstrong (founder of the world-famous Armstrong-Browning Library) inducted her into the English Honor Society Sigma Tau Delta so that he could have an “on-call, in-house” soloist for the many functions he sponsored. Particularly during her years in Shreveport and Waco, Louise was very active in music, serving at various times as church choir director, popular church soloist, and public school music teacher. Throughout her life, Louise was engaged in all aspects of church life, constantly assuming positions of service and leadership in Shreveport (First Baptist and Broadmoor Baptist), Waco (Columbus Avenue Baptist) and Dallas (Gaston Oaks Baptist). Equally important to her core values was her fierce devotion to family. She worked hard to pass her values along to her children. A common rejoinder to any child’s complaint about “Mom’s Rules” for behavior or disciplinary action would be her recitation of Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Her influence will be felt by many, and she will be dearly, dearly missed by all who benefited from her gifts of friendship, love and service. Louise was preceded in death by her parents Ira Jay Goode and Bertie Mae (Anderson) Goode, and her brother Burton Jay Goode, of Lake Charles. She is survived by her husband of 71 years, Keith Kent; her five sons, Stephen and his wife Pattye (Bay City, Michigan), Craig and his wife Ruth (Ruston, Louisiana), David and his wife Carol (Dallas), Paul and his wife Lyn (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and Creighton and his wife Donna (Dallas); along with 12 grandchildren – Bryan Kent and his wife Elizabeth (Choudrant, Louisiana), Brandie (Kent) Watson and her husband Matt (Eros, Louisiana), Kelley Louise Kent (Bay City, Michigan), Emily Kent (Bay City, Michigan), John Kent and his wife Kelly (Washington D.C.), Meredith Kent (Dallas), Robert Kent (Dallas), Andrew Kent (Kampala, Uganda, Africa), Collin Kent (Durham, North Carolina), David Gregory Kent and his wife Charin (Chicago, Illinois), Philip Jay Kent and his wife Lindsey (Dallas), and Sarah Kent (Dallas) – and nine great-grandchildren: Rachel Weaver (Flower Mound, Texas), Briley Kent (Choudrant), Beaux Kent (Choudrant), Augden Watson (Eros), Corbin Watson (Eros), Lily Kent (Chicago), Micah Kent (Chicago), Nathan Kent (Dallas) and Ethan Kent (Dallas). She also is survived by her sister-in-law Arlene Goode (Lake Charles), nephew Mark Goode and his wife Margaret (Lake Charles), niece Sharon (Goode) Thomas and her husband Roger (Lake Charles), niece Debbie (Goode) Doty and her husband Mike (Lake Charles), brother-in-law Dr. Glen R. Kent and his wife Eddie Claire (Mt. Pleasant, Texas), nephew Kevin Kent and his wife Jill (Mt. Pleasant), and niece Katy (Kent) Walker and her husband Philip (Rockwall). The family wishes to express special thanks to Jamilla Khalf, Sherri Parker and Jerri Bradford, caregivers who have attended Louise and Keith with special care and devotion for the past two years. As all who knew her can attest, Louise was a person of strong will and firmly-held opinions. She undoubtedly is now teaching the citizens of Heaven that there are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and Louise’s way. Louise’s family will receive friends from 3:00-6:00 pm on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at Restland Funeral Home. Services will take place at 2:00 pm on Sunday, January 10, 2016 at The Wildwood Chapel at Restland Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, 7557 Rambler Rd. – Suite 1200, Dallas TX 75231-2388, or www.texasbaptists.org/give.
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