Nancy-Ellen (Nancy) Feazell Kent peacefully passed away on April 19, 2018. Born on May 18, 1924, in Mount Hope, West Virginia, to Drema Walker and Thomas Lee Feazell Sr., she graduated from Mount Hope High School as salutatorian. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia, where she graduated in 1945 with a BA in sociology. Shortly after graduation, she married her childhood sweetheart, Robert Hutton (Bob) Kent on October 23, 1945.
Nancy and Bob briefly lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Bob served in the Army Air Corps as a 1st Lt. After Bob’s honorable discharge, he and Nancy returned to live in Mount Hope, West Virginia. Their first child Drema Walker (Dede) Kent was born in 1946 and their second daughter Nancy Hutton (Hutton) Kent was born in 1949.
As a young woman, Nancy was active in the Junior Women's Club in Mount Hope, played bridge with longtime friends, and taught high school for several years. She was also very active at Mount Hope Presbyterian Church. The family lived happily in Mount Hope, where Bob served as the general manager of the newly- built war Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville, West Virginia. In 1958, the family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, when Bob was recruited to become the general manager of the Greensboro Coliseum. Nancy loved teaching and taught junior high school for a number of years in Greensboro. The family spent many happy years in Greensboro and took many wonderful trips together, especially to the American West.
In 1969, Nancy and Bob moved to Atlanta when developer Tom Cousins recruited Bob to become the President of the Omni Coliseum, then under construction. Bob and Nancy maintained homes in Marietta and Hilton Head, South Carolina, where the family would gather many times during the year. The couple loved to travel and enjoyed numerous trips to Europe, several times traveling aboard the Queen Elizabeth II and the Concorde. Favorite destinations included Paris (Nancy’s favorite city), London, and Vienna as well as The Greenbrier, The Lodge at Pebble Beach, and The Broadmoor.
A woman of strong faith and an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church, Nancy enjoyed her circle group at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. A voracious reader, she loved playing bridge and golf, especially with Bob, and was steady and determined on the links.
Nancy loved cooking for her family, her specialty being desserts including carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies, and her "famous" honey cake. Her homemade scrabble snack mix and deviled eggs were the best in town. Nancy loved “power walking” for miles on the beach at Hilton Head, with her companions often struggling to keep up. She was also a very early proponent of recycling, lovingly chiding those who did not separate the glass, paper, and plastic.
Nancy was utterly devoted to her family, a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was at her happiest when surrounded by her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She offered unqualified and unconditional love for all and practiced extraordinary patience with
her grandchildren, whom she adored. She loved preparing goody baskets for the children and often created intricate limerick scavenger hunts for them. She loved jigsaw puzzles, card games, and board games. She had an exquisite talent for needlepointing, and her most treasured creations were the beautiful Christmas stockings she needlepointed for her great-grandchildren.
A longtime fan of the Atlanta Braves, many happy family moments spent watching Braves games at the beach house. She was an armchair umpire, often making helpful suggestions to former manager Bobby Cox from the comfort of her living room. Nancy was predeceased by her beloved husband of 72 years, Bob, on March 9, 2018; her brother Thomas Lee Feazell Jr., and her parents. She is survived by her two daughters, Drema "Dede" Kent Natale (Paul) and Hutton Kent Dhue (former son-in-law Bob); four grandchildren, Laurie Walker Dhue, Nancy Dhue Suh (Chris), Natalie Natale Hinkle (Steve), all of Atlanta, and Paul Michael Natale Jr. (Emily) of Chicago; and six great-grandchildren, Robert Christopher Suh and Thomas Hutton Suh of Atlanta, Cecilia Katherine Hinkle and Walker Joseph Hinkle of Atlanta, and Paul Michael Natale III and Olivia Maria Natale of Chicago, as well as nieces and nephews. The family is grateful beyond expression for the love and care that she received for the last five years from her “third” daughter, Catharina Middlebrooks, as well as her wonderful weekend caregiver Kathy M. Hunter.
A memorial celebration of Nancy's life will be held on Wednesday, April 25, at 11 a.m. in the Dobbs Chapel at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta 30327. A reception following the service will be held in Williams Hall For friends wishing to make memorial gifts, the family suggests The Atlanta Humane Society, Trinity Presbyterian Church, or Save the Children.
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