Robert Brydon Kent
Robert Brydon Kent, 93, of Lexington died at his home on February 5, 2015. Bob was the son of Madeline Brydon Kent and Silas Stanley Kent and grew up in Lowell MA. He attended Kimball Union Academy, Harvard University, and Boston University School of Law. He was predeceased by his brother John Chapman Kent also of Lexington. Bob is survived by his wife of 63 years, Barbara Tuttle Kent, his four children Robert Kent Jr., Dorothy Kent, Elizabeth Kent, Hugh Kent, and five grandchildren. Bob was active in the Lexington community where he lived for over 60 years. He served as Town Moderator, Town Selectman, and in a number of other capacities including Vice Chairman of the Lexington Humans Rights Committee and a member of the Lexington Selectmen's Committee on Policies and Procedure. Bob has also been an active member of the First Parish Church congregation. Bob Kent's career in educating aspiring lawyers spanned more than half a century. He practiced briefly in Ware, MA before joining the faculty of Boston University where he taught for 31 years predominantly in the field of Civil Procedure. He was honored at BU with a Silver Shingle for distinguished service to the School of Law as well as with an Endowed Chair in Civil Procedure (Richard Godfrey). Professor Kent was Professor and Dean of the University of Zambia Law School, taught at Cornell Law School, at Harvard Law School, was a visiting fellow at Trinity College in Oxford, and most recently a visiting professor at Roger Williams Law School from which he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree. He was honored by Zambia's President Kenneth Kaunda for service to that country. Professor Kent was also highly regarded in his work within the Rhode Island Judicial System. He served as Reporter for the Committee on Civil Rules, Supreme, Superior and District Courts; Reporter on Federal Rules of Evidence, and Reporter on Juvenile Court Reforms, Family Court. He went on to serve on the Advisory Committee on Civil and Criminal Rules, as well as the Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure for the State of Massachusetts. In addition, Professor Kent co-authored “Cases and Other Materials on Civil Procedure” in 1967 and authored “Rhode Island Practice: Rules of Civil Procedure” in 1969. Over the years, many of the recommendations he made in these commentaries became governing law in Rhode Island. Professor Kent's dedication to the Institution of Law extended to the "Lawyers in Africa" program where he earned the Peace Corp Citation in 1996. Bob was an avid hiker who loved the White Mountains, once trekked in the Himalaya foothills, and had a special fondness for the Concord Woods. He also spent many happy hours on and off the tennis courts with his Lexington friends. He was a baseball fanatic with an amazing memory for the trials and triumphs of the Boston Red Sox.
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