Robert F. Kent

Robert Free Kent (June 26, 1911 – October 1, 1982) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Crawford County in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1947 to 1956 and served as Pennsylvania Treasurer from 1957 to 1961. Kent served in the US Marine Corps during World War II and postwar became a captain in the Marine Corps Reserve. A Republican, he ran for Pennsylvania Auditor General in 1960, losing to Democratic nominee Thomas Z. Minehart.

Early life Kent was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, to parents O. Clare and Marion L. (Irving) Kent. He attended local public schools and earned his BA from Allegheny College and his LLB from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Following admittance to the bar, he went into practice with his father in the firm Kent & Kent. He interrupted his practice to serve as a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1944–46 during World War II, serving onboard the USS Menard (1945) and USS Roi (1946) and deploying overseas to Hawaii, Okinawa, and China. Postwar, he served as a captain in the Marine Corps Reserve. He subsequently served on the State Employees Retirement Board and the State Public School Building Authority.

Personal life Kent was married to Martha (Fell) Kent and had two children. He died at his suburban home in Harrisburg on October 1, 1982, at the age of 71. He was interred at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.