For Kent

Kent & MJ at Fr. Vin's birthday party, June 7, 2009

For those of you who may not be yet aware, Kent Ashton Walton, my sister’s longtime love, passed away at 3:30 a.m. Friday after a long battle with liver cancer. Kent was a Brit, and very much epitomized the archetypal English gentleman - very reserved, very cultured, very intellectual. His idea of a good time was a quiet evening at home with my sister in the company of a good bottle of wine. He had a particular liking for the Australian Shiraz. He was a homebody, to be sure, and if he HAD to go out, it was usually to haunt art galleries and poetry readings with my sister. That’s probably where he found his initial attraction to Marijo – they are both accomplished artists and poets.  

But I believe their strongest attraction lie in how much they both care about other people and the world around them, to the point of their sometimes anger over all the imperfections about the way the world works, imperfections that allow suffering to continue and the disadvantaged to remain oppressed. Although I sometimes disagreed with both of them about the DEGREE to which our society is corrupt, I have always agreed that these imperfections do exist and very much need to be fixed. I’m not sure Kent ever really understood how much I agreed with him on these basics. But I always admired his commitment to the betterment of the world, his concern for other people’s suffering, and his empathy for the disadvantaged.

He was a retired psychologist who spent most of his career as a counselor with the Toledo public schools. My sister is a social worker so their common bond is obvious. Kent was modest in the extreme and would probably be very uncomfortable reading this testimonial. I suspect if I had asked his permission to write this, he would have said flat out no. That’s what he was like, always wanting to help, never wanting any credit, and downright annoyed by anyone singing his praises. Except for the Australian Shiraz, he was pretty difficult to shop for since I had no clue about his tastes. Then one day about a year ago, I casually mention to Marijo that I had taped on PBS what I considered one of the best documentaries ever about John Lennon. They had a lot of programs on about Lennon at that time since it was the 30th anniversary of his assassination.

The next thing I knew, Marijo was sending me an email saying she had passed along my news to Kent and he had mentioned that he wished he could have seen it. He too, I now find out, was a big Lennon fan. Of course, it was a special program that only aired once so he was out of luck. Finally I had something to get for him besides the Shiraz. I made a copy of my Lennon DVD, printed a special cover for it so he’d know it was homemade, and that was Christmas 2010. I was so pleased that he loved it. Marijo by that time had completely forgotten that she’d even mentioned it to me. He was especially impressed by the thought and time I had put into it. He was a tough guy to impress so that really made my Christmas.

As I said, Kent would be completely embarrassed and probably mad at me for writing all this. But I’m writing it anyway because he deserves a pat on the back for his years of service to children and to the world around him. And that is the main purpose of my tribute today. In honor of his memory, and as a salute to his intense empathy for the disadvantaged, I offer the following opportunity for those who might wish to follow his lead and lend a hand to the disadvantaged.

The following link is for a charitable foundation that I have just this week discovered. It is called Annie’s Community Drive and it is based in Chico, California near Sacramento.

Annie's Community Drive

This strikes me as a most worthwhile cause. They have a fundraiser going on right now to buy video projectors for primary schools in Mali. These schools service among the poorest of the world’s poor. This site explains how it has been proven that these projectors vastly increase the effectiveness of primary education and thus contribute to lifting these children and their families out of poverty. Each projector costs $300, which includes training for the teachers on how to optimally use them.

The best news: Until September 30th, they have a special benefactor who is matching each donation up to $300. They will however accept donations as little as $5. I personally will make a donation of $150 such that, with the matching funds, one school in Mali will get one projector.

I know some of you never knew Kent. If you don’t feel a need to do this in his memory, do it just because it’s a worthy cause. Of course, it’s just a suggestion. Until last week I never knew this charity existed. I’m sure glad I discovered it and there has to be a little bit of kismet working here since I got this information the very week Kent left us. FYI, this information came to me via VideoMaker Magazine, which I have subscribed to and thoroughly enjoyed for a number of years and which has a longstanding reputation for being one of the best periodicals in the country devoted to video production and certainly the best devoted to amateur and prosumer video. So it has come from a very reliable source.

Before closing, I might add that Kent wanted nothing done for him. He is being cremated tomorrow, there will be no funeral, though Marijo will be hosting a modest celebration of his life in Chelsea sometime next month.  No one need feel any obligation as if this was Kent’s wish. This is my idea. I take full blame.  However, for those who are interested in Kent's wishes, there is more background about him at the Cole Funeral Chapel web site:  Cole Funeral Chapel and Marijo has listed two more charities that she and Kent favor.   

I just know that Kent is looking down on me right now and saying with a good blushed face, "Will you please stop this already?" Sorry, my British brother. You were so shy and reserved, this is all stuff I never dared say to your face while you were with us. But I am certain that when you see all these young children in Mali benefiting from these projectors and knowing that you had a hand in it, that you will feel more than a small twinge of pride.

Farewell, Kent. Rest in peace. And do keep an eye on all of us.