Robert Mace Bent, Jr. of Marion, MA died on October 8, 2011 after a brief illness.
He was the husband of the late Esther McSheehy Bent and is survived by his children, Robert M. Bent, III and his wife Colleen of Greenfield, MA, Peter E. Bent and his wife Nancy of Sherborn, MA and Barbara M. Bent and her fiancé Stephen A. Miller of Woburn, MA. He is also survived by eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mr. Bent was born in Cambridge in 1921 and grew up in Worcester, MA. He was a graduate of Worcester Classical High School and the Lowell Textile School (now the University of Massachusetts - Lowell). Mr. Bent earned money doing odd jobs to pay for flying lessons when he was a boy and got his pilot's license at the age of 16. It followed that he was assigned to be a flight instructor in the Army Air Corps during World War II, teaching men his age and older how to fly and navigate the Army's planes. After the war, he went into the wool business, eventually working in and taking over his father's firm where he bought raw wool from farms and ranches in Great Britain, Australia, and South America, and sold the processed wool to mills in the USA. He and his wife raised their children in Newton and Wellesley and spent their summers in Marion where they belonged to The Kittansett Club. In 1972, the Bents winterized their cottage and became year-round residents of Marion, enjoying their increased free time playing golf and traveling. Mr. Bent also served on several committees and on the Board of Governors at The Kittansett Club. Besides golf and travel, Mr. Bent enjoyed working in his yard and in his workshop, driving any car anywhere, playing bridge and poker, reading books with an historical perspective, following the Red Sox, and savoring the pleasure of a fine English Stilton.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Pine Street Inn, Development Office, 444 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118. His Memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. Rita's Church, 113 Front St. Marion, Saturday, October 29th at 11 AM. Visiting hours are omitted. Interment private.