A Life Remembered
Kent Smith was loved by many and will be greatly missed. He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend – one with a wonderfully dry sense of humor!
He was a devoted father and cared profoundly about animals; his kindness towards them was an inspiration to all who knew him.
In Kent's name, we are starting a mission dedicated to improving the lives of animals. We will actively seek opportunities to make a positive difference, whether through donations, volunteering our time, or dedicating our energy to animal welfare causes. This mission will not only help us remember and honor Kent but also serve to establish a lasting legacy of compassion in his name. More details of our activites and how you can contribute coming soon.
"Your fervent wishes can only find fulfillment if you succeed in attaining love and understanding of men, and animals, and plants, and stars, so that every joy becomes your joy and every pain your pain."
Photos of Kent
Eulogy by Steve Nichols
I have some memories of Kent that I’d like to share with you today.
Kent & I became friends in 8th or 9th grade at North Gwinnett High School. We played basketball together on the school team throughout our high school years. Kent was known for his hustle and rebounding.
One year in spring training, we were in the school parking lot doing a figure 8 drill where you run and pass the ball. Every couple of minutes, Kent would run off to the side and throw up. Then he’d run back into the figure 8 drill and keep going. After a few days of doing this, he found out he was sick with mono and had to drop out of spring practice. This is a memorable example of Kent’s commitment to working hard no matter what.
Because Kent worked so hard, it inevitably meant that he would perspire – but in his case, he sweat profusely. This was Kent’s secret weapon when it came to rebounding. In addition to being big and muscular, anyone who tried to take the ball from him would slide right off of his body. I know this from personal experience. Some people started calling him “slime”, but I just think they were jealous!
I’d like to tell you that we were the stars of the team and we won the state championship. But that was not the case. Although we worked hard, we were the second-stringers, the practice dummies, the bench-warmers. We were often called to go into the game after our team was losing so badly that the starting players were completely demoralized. Fortunately for us, that happened quite a bit. Our team had 3 wins and 21 losses in our senior year. Sometimes in practice games, we would beat the first stringers. But our coach still wouldn’t play us in an actual game until it was a lost cause. We often wondered, what did the coach have to lose by starting us in 1 game?
A few years after high school, Kent and I happened to marry sisters. This gave us an opportunity to maintain a friendship with each other through all these years. Our kids grew up as cousins and our families spent time with each other and the rest of the Bishop family. We have many memories and often repeated stories of family gatherings, Christmas plays, singing performances, and cousins spending time together playing, swimming, and going to the beach or Six Flags.
When we got together for family gatherings, we laughed a lot. My son Philip said that if we were laughing at a family gathering, Kent probably started it. Honestly, sometimes family gatherings can be stressful for some people. But Kent tried to make everyone feel comfortable by being warm, friendly, and cracking jokes. My daughter-in-law Lindsey commented how Kent made her feel welcome at her first Bishop family gathering. We don’t remember exactly what he said, but it might have been to ask her if she’s sure she wanted to be a part of this family because everyone in it is crazy. Or comment he’s glad she’s here because it greatly increases the family’s average intelligence.
My son Mark pointed out that Kent had “legendary gift-receiving skills”. Kent always loved whatever you gave him as a gift – somehow every gift he received was something he’s been wanting for a long time. Or if he already had 3, he needed a new one, or this one is so much better than what he already had. He made everyone feel that their gift was important to him.
Whatever food you served Kent, it was “the best he’s ever had”. If the cook admitted that they changed the recipe and weren’t sure if it would be OK, he would joke that it probably would have been better if they had not changed it. But then he would follow that with profuse praise for how delicious it was. It was his way of making the cook feel appreciated.
Whenever I was around Kent, I always enjoyed his company. Kent was an encyclopedia of rock and roll bands and their history. He had a collection of nearly 800 vinyl record albums. They used to put information about the bands inside the covers. Kent read these, learned about the bands, and knew the bands when he heard them. Sometimes we’d listen to music together, and he would tell me about the band, its history, and which members played for other bands.
But mostly I’ll remember how much we enjoyed laughing together. Even when it was just Kent and me sitting and talking, somehow every topic became an opportunity to say something funny. They say laughter is the best medicine. Kent used his wit to give us a little bit of the medicine that we needed to brighten our perspective on life.
To April, Stella, and Sam: we are here 1) because we love you, and 2) because Kent is someone special to us. We grieve with you, but we also find joy in our memories of Kent. I hope that you will find joy in your memories of him, and peace in the knowledge that your friends and family are here to support you.
We will miss Kent. But we will always remember him for who he was and the positive impact he had on our lives.