He was born on December 19, 1927, the son of Herbert Francis and Louise Laura Brent. Herb leaves behind his devoted and loving wife of 72 years, Joan M. Brent; his cherished daughters Beverly Waters (Donald) of Madison, CT, Mary Anne Veal (Robert) of Advance, NC, and Barbara Hendricks (Thomas) of Greenville, SC; and seven grandchildren: Shannon Lay (Brad), Brent Hendricks (Kalli), Laura DelBene (Gregory), Sarah Gould (Robert), Christopher Veal (Nikki), and Ashley Veal (Donald). “Pop”/ “Honey” will be greatly missed by his great grandchildren: Hendricks and Bradley Lay, Jackson, Lucas, and Emma DelBene, Isabelle and Lucy Gould, Alec and Annabelle Darling, and Lydia Veal. Herb also leaves behind numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews, along with a lifetime of admiring friends from Baltimore, Atlanta, and Greenville. Herb was predeceased by his five siblings and his precious, fifteen-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany Hendricks.
Herb was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute then in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served as a pharmacist mate. While stationed in Saipan after World War II, he assisted in the delivery of twenty-one local babies. With the benefit of the U.S. GI Bill, he enrolled in and later received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Herb married Joan in 1950, and they lived in Baltimore with their three daughters until 1971, when his employer, the Western Electric Company, transferred him to Atlanta, Georgia. Over the course of his distinguished career as a chemical engineer, Herb received multiple U.S. patents for his expertise in copper plating and in other budding technologies related to telephone communications. He was the president and then an active member of the Atlanta chapter of the AT&T Pioneers, a national volunteer organization. For decades, he led a team of fellow Pioneers who crafted beautiful wooden toys for hundreds of children in need.
In 2019, after living in the Atlanta area for nearly fifty years, Herb and Joan moved to Greenville, SC, to be closer to family. Family was always at the center of Herb’s life and persona. Joan was the everlasting love of his life. Even up until his last weeks, the two were inseparable, holding hands when out in public and even sitting together by themselves. Herb was also the father who was proud to raise daughters. By example, he taught them to stand strong, and how to fix things, from broken windows to broken relationships. He embraced his sons-in-laws as his own and taught them too how to live a life of service to family and to others. Each of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren will likely remember the silly man who tickled them, chased them around the living room and dining room, and gave them the best back-scratches ever.
Patience was not one of Herb’s strong points, and stories abound about his wrapping golf clubs around trees, letting waitstaff know that food “should’ve arrived already,” making faces at inconsiderate drivers, and swearing at himself for hammering his thumb or for misremembering a detail in a story that he expertly recounted from his childhood. Herb readily acknowledged that he was not perfect, but always said that every day was a new day to become better. Nieces, nephews, and countless other family and friends will cherish their memories of the ordinary guy-next-door who was generous with his time, resources, and talents. In his basement full of carpentry tools, Herb built and gave away dozens of toys, doll houses, cradles, housewares, decorations, and gifts. He loved spending time with loved ones at the beach, playing golf with his buddies, and eating Maryland steamed crabs with family. Always with a ready smile, he was the person who would give you the shirt off his back and take nothing in return.
Herbert E. Brent was a generous soul, a loving family man, and someone who left this earth richer, happier, and better-constructed than he found it.
Guests will be received by the family on Friday, June 30, 2023, from 9:30-10:00 a.m., and a funeral mass will follow at 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., both at St. Mary Magdalene Church, 2252 Woodruff Road Simpsonville SC, 29681.
Interment will be at Mackey Funerals and Cremations at Woodlawn Memorial Park, 1 Pine Knoll Drive, Greenville SC, 29609.
A lunch reception will follow at St. Mary Magdalene Church’s Family Life Center from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at https://www.cff.org/give-monthly
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mackeycenturydrive.com for the Brent family.
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