Kent, Charles F. 'Chuck'

Charles F. “Chuck” Kent, 86, of Iowa City, died Sunday, July 31, 2011, at Mercy Iowa City. Chuck chose to be cremated and a private burial will be held at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. The family will greet friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at The Kirkwood Room at Governors Ridge, 515 Kirkwood Ave., Iowa City.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, Friends of the Iowa City Animal Shelter Foundation or The Mercy Hospital Foundation.

Charles Frederick Kent was born April 7, 1925, in Iowa City, the son of F.W. and Clara (Hartman) Kent. A lifelong Iowa City resident, he graduated from University High School and attended the University of Iowa.

He married Alice Mae Donham on April 3, 1947, in Iowa City. Alice died in 1991. On Jan. 2, 1993, Chuck married Helen Taylor Keppler in Iowa City. Chuck was a professional portrait photographer (Kent Studio) from 1947, until his retirement in 1975. He was instrumental in establishing one of the first color photo processing labs in Iowa.

Chuck served in the Army Air Corp during World War II. He was a member of First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, Phi Kappa Psi and served as president of the Professional Photographers of Iowa. He very much enjoyed traveling the country in his RV, boating, playing bridge, golfing and dancing - all of which were shared with family and friends.

Chuck is survived by his wife, Helen; children, Jane Kent of Iowa City, Ann (Mike) Hitchcock of Iowa City, Julie (John) Larson of Ames: stepchildren, Kathy (Greg) Wunsch of Naperville, Ill., and Karen (John) Bower of Stillwater, Minn,; grandchildren Jenny (Luke) Sutter, Tyler (Alina) Beck, Shawna Hitchcock, Corey Hitchcock, Sara Larson, Bryan Larson; stepgrandchildren, Libby (Greg) Phillips, Katie Wunsch, Christopher Bower and Adam Bower; great-granddaughter, Samantha Kriz; brother, Tom Kent; brother-in-law, Charles Buckley; sister-in-law, Blanche Hartsock; and many nieces and nephews.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Alice; brother, Jim (Cloy) Kent; sister, Barbara Buckley; and sister-in-law, Ann Kent.

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