Christopher Hull Lent

(Age 66)

On Thursday, April 16, 2020, Christopher Lent peacefully entered eternal rest with his family by his side. He is survived by his beloved wife of forty years, Mary Ann Hayes, his loving daughter, Elizabeth Hayes Lent of Denver, CO, his brother Ryck Lent, niece Eleanor Lent West, and grand-nephew, all of Waltham, MA.

Christopher was born in Kingston, NY, on January 29, 1954, the son of the late Richard Waring Lent and Babette Bird Lent. He was raised in New Paltz, NY, summering by the ocean on Cape Cod. He graduated from Tabor Academy, Marion, MA, in 1972, attended Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, and graduated from Maharishi International University (MIU), Fairfield, IA, in 1978. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1983.

Christopher began his career as an Interior Architect in Washington, DC, at Burroughs, Roos, Grierson, followed by positions at Smith Group, Onyx, IA Interior Architects and IBI Group. He was a member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) (1988-2020) and a Certified Facility Manager (CFM) (2000-2020). In addition, he had a successful private practice in Residential Design and Renovation.

Christopher had a great appreciation for art and beauty. At Hartwick College, he travelled to India for a three-month study abroad program, studying the ancient textile art, Kalamkari, later importing and exhibiting these in the United States. He was also a skilled potter.

Christopher had a passion for sailing. He twice participated in the Marion, MA to Bermuda Race (1985 & 1988) with his father, brother and crew upon his father’s 42’ Bristol sailboat.

Christopher began Transcendental Meditation in 1972, later becoming a teacher of the technique. While at MIU, an encounter with Father Thomas Keating, a Trappist Monk and pioneer of the Contemplative Movement, at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA, inspired his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church and, later, to pursue a vocation as a Third Order Discalced Carmelite, a religious order within the Catholic Church whose charism is based upon the mystical teachings of contemplative prayer taught by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. He entered Formation at the Discalced Monastery in Washington, DC, taking his Definitive Promise on November 9, 2003. He was a member of the OCDS Community of the Child Jesus and the Holy Innocents in Emmitsburg, MD, serving as President from 2008-2014 and Treasurer from 2014-2020.

Christopher had a great devotion to St. Maria Faustina Kowalski’s message of the Divine Mercy of God, and the Holy Face of Manoppello, which, in May 2014, he visited in Italy during the annual procession of the sacred image throughout the village.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, April 23, at 10am at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, MD. Interment will take place on Saturday, April 25 at Riverside Cemetery, Wellesley Island, NY. A Memorial Service will be planned post pandemic.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Pancreatic Cancer Action (www.pancan.org), The Hermits of Our Lady Mount Carmel (www.eremitaednmc.org), or Mount St. Vincent’s Home (www.msvhome.org).