Kent Mathews

POWNAL — Kent Lane Mathews, 73, of Pownal passed away peacefully at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, from open-heart surgery complications.

Born to Floyd “Matt” and Margaret Mathews in Boston on April 1, 1943, Kent did not meet his dad until World War II ended. The first time he saw his father shaving, peeking out from behind her skirt, he told his mom, “He was in Pacific.”

Kent graduated from Central Bucks County High School in 1961 and attended the University of Maine at Orono, graduating in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in German. He then completed his master’s program at the University of Iowa. Afterward, he studied at the Goethe-Institut in Munich, Germany. Kent taught German at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Pa. He lived in Saint Catherine’s, Ontario, Saco and Pittsburgh, Pa. before moving to Harrison in the late 1980s. Kent taught Language Arts at Oxford Hills Middle School for the balance of his career. In 1992, he moved to Pownal to help care for his quadriplegic younger brother. He retired from teaching in 2002.

Kent loved to travel, making several trips to Germany and Austria and the Caribbean. Kathy and Kent reserved Saturday as their date night and regularly attended public suppers. He was a devout Christian and a member of Lakeview Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Rockport and took great pride in his children and grandchildren. Kent made a difference in many lives including his students, colleagues, many friends and family members and will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his loving wife Kathy (Cannell); devoted daughter Elisabeth Munsen; two grandchildren; and brother Kim, all of Pownal; and his son, Aaron and two grandchildren of Chandler, Ariz.

A memorial service to celebrate Kent’s life will be held on April 15 at 10:30 a.m., followed by refreshments, at the North Pownal United Methodist Church, 851 Lawrence Road in Pownal. The committal service will be held on May 13 at noon at Elmwood Cemetery, Elmwood Road in Pownal.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Coastal Humane Society in Brunswick.