Extracted from The Lufkin Daily News (Lufkin, TX)
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Kent Hannah

Kent Hannah passed away Saturday, September 10, 2011 in Grants, New Mexico.

Kent was born on May 17, 1957 in Lufkin, Texas to the late Dee and Faye Hannah and graduated from Diboll High School in 1975. He married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl Emsoff Hannah, in June 1975. They have one daughter, Melissa Leanne Hannah, who is married to Matthew Benton from Groveton, Texas. Melissa graduated from Diboll High School and went on to graduate with her Bachelor's Degree from Texas A&M University and obtained her law degree from South Texas College of Law. Kent was adamant that his daughter have the best education and was very proud of what she accomplished. A lifelong resident of Angelina County, Kent and his wife Cheryl had moved to the community of Crecy and left the city for ``the farm.''

Kent is survived by his devoted wife Cheryl, loving daughter Melissa, son-in-law Matthew, brothers John Dee and Roy Hannah, sister Betty Hannah-Smith, and numerous friends, nieces, nephews, and cousins. He is also survived by his dog and best buddy, Tater.

Kent spent the majority of his life in the woods as a logger and most recently became the hardest working ``semi-retired'' man in East Texas, driving a log truck for the family business, KCM Trucking, Inc. He loved being a logger and was as devoted to logging as he was to his family.

At over 6'6" and over 300 pounds, ``Mr. Kent'' as they called him on the radio, was hard to miss in his straight-billed hat and overalls. He was larger than life and will be missed by many. Kent's motto in life was ``work is play,'' and it truly was for him. So it should come as no surprise to those who knew him that he asked his family not to have a funeral or memorial service upon his death because he didn't want folks to miss work on account of him.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Kent Hannah to Smiling Dog Farms. Gifts can be made by credit card or PayPal through their website: www.smilingdogfarms.org on the home page under ``In Honor Of,'' or checks can be sent directly to them at P.O. Box 743, Wharton, Texas 77488. Smiling Dog Farms asks that you reference Kent Hannah in the memo line of your check.