William Earnest Kent

Earnie was born in Brave, Greene County, PA. He grew up in the Wana, WV, area. He graduated from Clay-Battelle High School, Blacksville, Monongalia County, WV, in 1960, where he was President of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) Chapter. Earnie drove a cattle truck and was a cattle buyer for Arthur Harker of the Wadestown, WV, area. Shortly after his marriage to Mary Jane Dinsmore, he went to work as an over-the-road truck driver, driving semi for Baker Hi-Way Express of Dover, Ohio. In 1974, Earnie and Mary Jane moved to New Philadelphia, Ohio, then to Newcomerstown, Ohio. Earnie had the opportunity to return to the livestock business, driving for Richard A. "Dick" Young of Moundsville, WV. Earnie and Mary Jane returned to Greene County, and purchased a home in Wind Ridge, Greene County, PA. In the early 1980's, Earnie realized his dream when he leased a slaughter house from T. William Barnes off Sugar Run Road just south of Waynesburg, PA. He operated a custom, wholesale, and retail business there. In 1987, Earnie began suffering severe headaches. On December 20, he was taken from Sunday morning services at the Fairview United Methodist Church, Richhill Twp. to the West Virginia University Hospital (now Ruby Memorial Hospital) in Morgantown, WV. Later that day, he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, located very deep between the frontal lobes of his brain. The following week he started six weeks of radiation treatments. These treatments likely prolonged his life for nearly twenty-five months. During the early months of those two years, he was a patient at the Curry Memorial Home near Waynesburg, Greene County, PA. He was able to return to his home in Wind Ridge, where he lived out his final fourteen months.