John Charles Kent

Franklin, TN, Age 73, passed away December 2, 2014. John is survived by his wife of 47 years, Diane Wolf Kent; children, Jennifer (Chad) Handshy, Matthew (Jennifer) Kent, Benjamin (Sara) Kent and Katie (Seth) Taylor and grandchildren Sam, Haley, Natalie and Ryan Handshy; Alexis and Nathan Kent; and Lydia and Zachary Taylor. Also survived by one brother and two sisters and many nieces and nephews.

Preceded in death by parents George and Geneva Kent and two sisters.

John was born on November 3,1941 in St. Paul, Minnesota. After meeting and marrying his wife in Minneapolis while attending the University of Minnesota and having their first daughter they moved to Michigan for John to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. While in Michigan, their first son was born and the family made a career move to Des Moines, Iowa to work with the National Heart Association. While living in Iowa for 6 years the family grew with the addition of another son and daughter. In 1978 the family moved to Nashville and continued to work with the Heart Association for a number of years.

John went on to own and operate a furniture refinishing company, work in real estate and other endeavors before beginning work as the Plant Engineer for the Catholic Diocese of Nashville. He continued with this work which he found to be the most rewarding of his career until retirement in 2004.

John was loved and will be missed dearly by his friends and family. In luei of flowers, contributions may be made to the Amyotrohic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association.