When asked what the secret is to having a successful marriage, Jean Kent smiled and replied, “Don’t go to bed angry.” In January, Jean and Dick Kent celebrated 65 years of marriage. Married at the young ages of 17 and 21, respectively, this Spencerport couple has lived a lifetime of memories. Dick reminisced about the time he met Jean. “I was teaching a neighbor boy of Jean’s to drive. I thought Jean was sweet on him because every time we came back to his house she came out to say hello,” Dick recalled. Jean added, “I was really looking at someone else.” After courting, this young couple was married on January 24, 1942 at St. John the Evangelist Church on Humboldt Street in the city of Rochester. Over the next few years, they had two children, Mary and James, and lived in apartments and different homes in the city of Rochester. Jean recalled one of their more memorable moments as young parents, “We lived in an upper apartment on Tremont Street. We paid $5 a week for rent. Our oldest daughter, Mary, was a newborn and she was a crier. An elderly woman lived below us. She hauled a rocking chair up a flight of stairs and told me to rock my baby so she wouldn’t cry,” Jean said with a laugh. Their youngest daughter, Anne, now owns this rocker. A move to West Webster brought new adventure as the couple worked as tenant farmers on a dairy farm. “We worked from 4:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. at night. I delivered eggs and milk on a milk truck. A customer asked me once if the eggs were fresh. I told her if they were any fresher I would have to bring the chicken,” joked Dick. The couple bought their home at 166 Coleman Avenue in Spencerport in 1955 and three more children, Kathleen, Joseph and Anne, were born. “I vowed I would never move again,” Jean said. After a brief stint as the custodian for St. John the Evangelist School in Spencerport, Dick became a school bus driver for Spencerport Central Schools (SCS) and spent the next 19 years as a driver and bus driver trainer. Jean also worked for SCS for 15 years as a bus driver and a cafteria worker at Bernabi Elementary School. Many Spencerport residents remember Dick as the friendly face greeting customers at the hardware store located in the village of Spencerport. He worked for three different owners of this store at various times over the course of 45 years. Jean and Dick’s commitment to their marriage and family is unwavering. Jean recently fell and broke her pelvis which required a hospital stay, rehabilitation and time at home healing and recuperating. During this time, Dick took care of Jean and according to Jean, Dick “learned how to do things he never had done before - laundry, cook and even how to work the dishwasher. He makes great toasted cheese sandwiches,” she said. “It was an honor to take care of my wife,” Dick added. The Kent home is filled with pictures of their five children, 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. “I have five of the most wonderful children. We have two more babies on the way, our 10th and 11th great-grandchildren will be born this year,” Jean said. Their youngest daughter, Anne, describes her parent’s marriage as steadfast. “Their secret is they always put others before themselves and the love they have is multiplied and shared.” When asked for some words of marital wisdom, Jean said, “We laugh a lot.” She advised all couples to, “Love a lot and be patient and forgive. I also keep him well-fed and make plenty of cookies.” Dick offered some advice and his voice filled with emotion, “The best gift you can give your child is to love their mother,” he said. February 11, 2007 |
