Samuel "Sam" Eugene Kent

Samuel “Sam” E. Kent passed away Feb. 3, 2022, at the age of 88, in Astoria.

Sam was born in 1933 in Duluth, Minnesota, to James and Lillian Tuomisto. The family name was naturalized in 1945 to Kent.

The family moved to Astoria in 1943, where Sam spent his childhood, and then went to college in Eugene at the University of Oregon, where he graduated in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in business.

He met his wife, Marcella, while in college, and they married in 1954. Because Sam was in college during the Korean War, he was required to join the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. So, upon graduation, Sam joined the U.S. Air Force.

The couple were stationed in various U.S. cities, but first moved to Texas, where Sam went through flight school. They then moved to the air base in Lincoln, Nebraska, where their two oldest sons were born: Bryan in 1958 and Bruce in 1960.

Sam left the military in 1960, and he and his wife went into the restaurant business, first in Duluth, where they owned and operated an A&W drive-in. Then, in 1964, they sold the business and moved to Lake Oswego, where they owned and operated a second A&W.

Their two daughters were born in Oregon: Cynthia in 1964 and Janice in 1965. Then, in 1966, they moved to Astoria, where they bought their third restaurant, the Halfway House, which they owned and operated for the next seven years.

During this time, Sam had also been working part time as a longshoreman, and in 1971, they sold the restaurant and Sam went to work full time. Sam worked at the Port of Astoria until retirement, when he then turned his focus to the things he enjoyed, like golfing, working in the yard and fixing up houses.

Sam’s heart was always in Astoria, where he felt at home in the local Finnish culture and being a part of the community.

Sam is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Bryan Kent, of Astoria, and Bruce and Kimberly Kent, of Portland; and two daughters and sons-in-law, Cynthia and David Machata, of Westport, Connecticut, and Janice and Peter Sargent, of Auckland, New Zealand.

A small family memorial will be planned in the future.