William Anthony Campbell Gent

In loving memory of William “Bill” Gent.

July 10, 1940 – August 19, 2023

Bill was born in Wisbech, in Cambridgeshire, England, the oldest son of Ken and Jean Gent. As a young boy, he immigrated to Canada, where he grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake alongside brother Ian and sister Chris. He attended Niagara District High School, where he was President of the Student Council. There he met Audrey Winget, and they were married in July 1964 at St. Mark’s Anglican Church.

Bill and Audrey enjoyed a marriage of 59 years, and were blessed with a son Michael, daughter Donna (Linwood), grandchildren Ashley and Chase, nephews Lauren and William and niece Stacy.

In the early years of their marriage, Bill and Audrey lived in St. Catharines, Ontario and Bill started his long career working for General Motors. There, they enjoyed great times with friends Butch and Carolyn Brandy, and later their girls Diana, Julie and Catharine.

A few years later, Bill and Audrey moved to Oshawa, where they were active members of St. Peter’s Anglican Church. Both were active with the Oshawa Choral Society, acting in numerous Gilbert and Sullivan plays. Bill was also very involved with the local Jaycee’s. Bill’s family remembers fondly the pranks he used to play on neighbors Dave and Ella Butterworth (like the time he put dry ice into their backyard pool).

In 1976 Bill was transferred by GM to Detroit, Michigan so the family relocated to Lake Orion. It was there that his love of computers took root, beginning a lifelong interest in technology (and his hoarding of every cord and plug he had every owned!). Bill was an active member of St Mary’s In the Hills Episcopal Church, where he was a member of the choir and the vestry. He was also active in the local neighborhood association, planning road rally’s and participating in neighborhood patrols alongside friends Ernie and Ginger Waterhouse. He also began drawing and doing watercolor paintings, as well as woodworking and doing projects with his enormous collection of tools (again, more collecting!), often displaying and selling his work at the annual Donut Festival.

In 1990, Bill again was transferred, this time to Texas working for EDS (now HP). He and Audrey bought a house in Plano and then later moved to Sachse next to wonderful neighbors Tony and Barb Jacinto. They joined Church of the Epiphany in Richardson, where Bill sang in the choir, was a member of the Men’s Club, and served at the Austin Street Shelter. It was in Texas that Bill found his love of RV’ing, and he and Audrey traveled around the US their “Dolphin” rig.

Bill retired when he turned 65, though he continued to work part-time to “keep busy” (of course, working with computers).

In 2010 after their grandson Chase was born, Bill and Audrey moved to Virginia to be close by, ultimately buying a home in Culpeper. Bill greatly enjoyed having “a bit of land,” owning a pickup, and driving his riding mower around (often with his grandson seated on his lap). There they joined St Stephen’s Episcopal Church and Bill was active in the The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, enjoying their Tuesday morning breakfast and Bible study sessions. Bill spoke of many fond friendships formed from these meetings. He continued his volunteerism in Culpeper as well, serving as the blood drive coordinator for the Red Cross. As Bill aged, he and Audrey moved to Falls Church and then Fairfax, Virginia to be even closer to family.

Bill suffered a stroke in early 2023, and never fully recovered. He passed away peacefully on Saturday August 19, 2023 at the age of 83, surrounded by family, with his loving wife and lifelong companion Audrey by his side.

Throughout Bill’s life, he was dedicated to his faith and service of others. He never met a stranger, always chatting and showing kindness to anyone he came across. Bill also had a wonderful sense of humor, playing practical jokes and, later in life, sending regular emails with (clean) jokes and cartoons. If you knew Bill well enough to give him your email address, you were likely on his distribution list! We will all miss him, his kindness (and his cartoons). But we take comfort knowing he is with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (and hopefully playing with his beloved dogs Sam and Willie).

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at 11am at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 115 N. East Street, Culpeper, VA 22701. The service will also be broadcast on Facebook live for friends and family unable to make the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Brotherhood of St. Andrew (BoSA) at St. Stephen’s.