Charles A. Kent, Jr., 83, of Tifton died Thursday, October 8, 2009 at home following a short illness. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 11, 2009, at First United Methodist Church sanctuary in Tifton. Dr. Glen Martin and Dr. W. Ches Smith, III will officiate with burial to follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Grandsons-Christopher Kent Richter, Ryan Rowland Richter, Ike Manning Kent, Jr., Charles Wesley Kent, along with Ben Bowen, III and William Rowland “Bo” Tucker, will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Bob Reinhardt, Ray Jensen, Bob Coleman, Darrell Wiggins, Walter Strange, Edward Jordan, Charles Massey, Ralph Puckett, Jack Perry, Jim Sinclair, members of the Tifton Rotary Club, employees of Professionals Plus Realtors and the Fellowship Sunday School class of Tifton’s First United Methodist Church. Honorary escort will be members of the Tift County E.M.S. The family will receive friends on Saturday, October 10, 2009, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mr. Kent was born on July 14, 1926 in Tifton and was the son of Charles A. Kent, Sr. and Pauline Manning Kent, both deceased. He was also preceded in death by one sister, Helen Kent Moore. He graduated from Tifton High School and studied at Gordon Military College, the University of Florida, the University of Maine and Oklahoma State University. He served in the United States Army during World War II.
Charles was a member of Boy Scout Troop 61, which met in the original log cabin in Fulwood Park. He received the Eagle Scout Award at the age of 15 and, after returning from service, served as scoutmaster of this same troop for many years.
At the age of 12, Charles joined the First United Methodist Church, where he remained a staunch and faithful member for his entire life, having served on the Board of Stewards and the Board of Trustees. He is a charter member and past president of the Fellowship Sunday School class, where he taught on a rotating basis with others for many years. His wife, Louise, was a Sunday School teacher for years in the elementary grades.
Charles and his brother-in-law, C. D. Moore, owned and operated Kent’s Furniture Store on Second Street in Tifton and in Albany, a leading furniture business, from 1946, until they sold the business in 1979. Charles served two terms as president of the Tifton Merchants Association and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce, where he served as President in the mid 1950s and served on the Board for 55 years. He served three terms on the board of the Georgia Retail Furniture Association. The script name of Kent’s Furniture Stores was a familiar sight on delivery trucks all over south Georgia.
Charles was involved in every worthwhile civic, religious and political activity in south Georgia during his entire adult life, having served as President of the Tift County Chamber of Commerce, the Tifton Rotary Club, the ABAC Foundation, the Tifton Centennial Celebration, the Tiftarea Board of Realtors, the Tifton Retail Merchants Association and Chairman of the South Georgia Council of Chief Elected Officials, the South Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission, the Tift County Development Authority, the Southwest Georgia Emergency Medical Association, the Tift County Chapter of the President’s Council on the Aging and the Tift County U.S.O.
Mr. Kent was a member of the governing board of the South Georgia Health Systems Agency, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties, the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, the National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management, Theta Chi Fraternity, was a lifetime member of Forward Tifton, the Governor’s Advisory Council on Planning and Zoning and was a certified Emergency Medical Technician.
Mr. Kent was a charter member of the Tifton Jaycees in 1953. He held nearly every office in the club including Regional President and was a member of the State Jaycee Rebel Corps.
In 1967, Mr. Kent was elected to the Tift County Board of Commissioners. He served as vice-chairman from 1969 until 1973, when he was elected chairman, a full-time position, which included management of the county government. He was elected six times as chairman, a position which he held fro 24 years, until he retired on December 31, 1996. He served on the Board of Managers of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia for many years and served a president of the Association in 1977-1978. He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties.
During his administration as chairman of the Tift County Board of Commissioners, the old Junior High School building, which had been abandoned for years, was acquired and restored to accommodate all the county’s administrative functions. This initiative enabled the county to serve its citizens in a more efficient manner. At its meeting on December 9, 1996, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to name the facility the “Charles A. Kent Administrative Building” in honor of their long-time chairman, who had served his fellow man so well.
Tift County was named Local Government of the year in 1994. Mr. Kent was active in economic development and was involved in the location or expansion of Shaw Industries, Burlen Corporation, Union Camp, Heatcraft, Kanebo Spinning, Queen Carpet, Mastercraft, Schwans, Prestolite, Target Distribution Center, Orgill, Chickasha, COI, Tifton Aluminum, Kelly Manufacturing Company, Georgia Ag Lab, Wal-Mart Photo Lab and Moultrie Technical Center.
Mr. Kent received the State Mental Health Award, WSB750 award, GIDA Volunteer Award, Georgia General Assembly Awards for his service on the State Crime Commission and the Tax Reform Commission, the Governor’s Crime Awareness Award and, from the Tift County Chamber of Commerce, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Award, the Stafford award and the Wall of Fame award.
Mr. Kent was a member of the Georgia Industrial Developers Association, Japan-American Society, International County Managers Association, American Association of Airport Executives, Georgia Retail Furniture Association and a member of the Tiftarea, Georgia and National Real Estate Associations.
Mr. Kent served on the Governor’s Staff of Ernest Vandiver, Jimmy Carter, George Busbee, Joe Frank Harris and Zell Miller. He was named one of four Tift County Senior Citizens of the Year in 2001.
Mr. Kent is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Louise Rowland Kent of Tifton; one daughter, Georgia Katherine Kent of Tifton; two sons, Charles A. Kent III and his wife Lisa of Tifton, Ike Manning Kent and his wife Renee of Thomasville; four grandsons, Ike Manning Kent, Jr. of Thomasville, Charles Wesley Kent of Thomasville, Christopher Kent Richter of Atlanta and Ryan Rowland Richter of Atlanta; and one sister, Judge Katherine A. Kent of Ponte Vedra, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Hospice of Tiftarea or the First United Methodist Church of Tifton.