- Patricia Lent
Randolph— Patricia Adams Lent died peacefully at the Randolph home of son and daughter-in-law, Jeffrey and Marion Lent, on November 16, 2021.
She was born Patricia Haynes Adams, December 12, 1926 to Helen Dunham Haynes and John Trevor Adams in Garden City, Long Island. She grew up there and in Westport, Conn.; Asheville, N.C.; and Clearwater, Fla. Against her father's social expectations, she attended Plymouth State Teachers College and graduated from Johnson State Teachers College.
During childhood, her passions for dogs and bicycle riding were discovered and remained so all of her life. During World War II, as a high school student, she volunteered for Vermont's Farm Labor Service and discovered the two other major passions of her adult life: agriculture and education.
After beginning her teaching career in Vermont schools with her first husband, Henry Colley, she paddled the length of the Allagash Waterway at a time when few made that journey.
In 1953, she married her second husband, Henry (Hank) B. Lent Jr. in North Pomfret, Vt. She put her teaching career on hold as she raised her children, John Trevor Lent, Jeffrey David Lent, and Elizabeth Anne Lent, while also working on the farm with Hank, driving team, and helping with the cattle; the sheep, especially during lambing; and caring for the horses. She loved her Queen Atlantic wood range.
In 1966, the family moved to a farm in New York's Finger Lakes, and there she resumed her teaching career. Following her divorce in 1978, she moved to North Carolina, where she taught for the remainder of her career, in smaller rural schools. During this time, she brought her focus to teaching English to eighth grade classes, believing as she did that this was a prime time to launch fires in her students.
She organized drama clubs, newspapers, and literary magazines, as well as introducing soccer at several of these schools as an intramural sport. She taught until her retirement at age 70. She was a passionate teacher, recalled by many former students.
During her adult life, she bred, raised, and trained dogs, primarily terriers of several breeds, as well as setters and pointers. She was a founding member of the Woodstock (Vt.) Dog Club, later the Woodstock Kennel Club. In 1971, she founded the American Working Terrier Association, which now has chapters across the country.
Her final dog was Maggie, a pandemic rescue dog. Sitting bedside vigil were the English Setters, Bella, and Franny. There were very few brief periods in her life when she was without a canine companion.
Patricia was an independent woman, a spirit of the woods and fields, and lived her life accordingly.
She's survived by her children, and her grandchildren: Esther and Clara Lent, Mikaela Engert, Gregory Lent, Brianny, and twins Brendan and Caitlan Ormsby.
Arrangements are by Boardway and Cilley of Chelsea. A private memorial service will be held by the family in spring of 2022.
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1926 - 2021 (94 years)
