Gaylord S. Kent Sr.

Retired Lt. Colonel Gaylord Smith Kent, Sr. (Kent) was born on April 18, 1927, to John H. and Malia A. (Smith) Kent in Stotesbury, WV. Kent was the youngest of three boys and two girls. He attended school at Stotesbury Elementary School, McAlpin Junior High School, and Bird Prillerman High School (all in West Virgina), after which he enlisted in the U.S. Army (serving three years in Yokohama, Japan as a Platoon Sergeant). Under the GI bill, he attended Tuskegee Institute (in Alabama), where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Industries in 1953. While in his freshman year of college, he met Dorothy L. Martin (they were married in 1951).

Kent participated in the Air Force ROTC while at Tuskegee and joined the Air Force upon graduating from college in 1953. He spent 21 years in the Air Force and retired as a Lt. Colonel at Hancock Field in Syracuse, New York. While in the military, he completed tours in Japan and Germany, as well as in the states of Virginia, Florida, Maine, Alabama, Massachusetts, Iowa, Mississippi, Alaska, and New York.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1975, Kent spent three and a half years working for Lockheed Aircraft as a military advisor to the Saudi Arabian Air Force in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When he returned to the United States in 1980, he retired to his home in Clay (where he and Dorothy remained until his passing).

On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Kent was called home to eternal rest. He leaves to mourn his passing: Spouse – Dorothy L. Kent. Children – Gaylord S. Kent, Jr., Linnea Kent-Hicks, and Geoffrey Kent. In Laws – Dana and Sheryl Martin, Dominic DiRusso, and Ali Ndiaye. Grandchildren - Kami Kent, Britte Kent, Corin Kent, Dorothy N. Hicks-Jackson, Alexa P. Kent, and Erica T. Kent. Great Grandchildren: Kai Kent, Talia Gusman, Riley Kent-DiRusso, Zoe Kent-DiRusso, Issa Ndiaye, Ari Ndiaye, Soykayma Ndiaye, Amaia N. Smith, Alicia R. Jackson, and Vincent Jackson, Jr. Great-Great Grandchildren: Dai’ Ari Smith, and many more loving family and friends.

Funeral Services were private.

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