BECKIE KENT DUER

TYLER — Beckie Kent Duer, a Tyler native and graduate of the 1970 class of Robert E Lee High School, died unexpectedly in her home in Mena, Arkansas on July 2. A memorial service will be held in Mena and one in Tyler later this month with the dates to be announced.

She is survived by her loving husband Bill, her sister Carolyn Hugley of Tyler, her niece Jennifer and husband Chuck Cleboski of Montgomery, TX, 19 first cousins, and her dear friend Debbie Davenport Hartung of Tyler. She was preceded in death by her father William E. “Bill” Kent (1916-1984) and mother Doris Ruffner Kent (1921-2017).

Lucy Rebecca Kent was born on February 20, 1952. She was an avid tennis player in high school and studied piano for twelve years graduating from SFA in 1975 with a degree in music. Beckie learned to play the guitar and loved all music from country to classical. She finished her career working in the accounting department of MBCI in Houston. Two of her favorite experiences were working on the paddle steamer “Delta Queen” in the mid-1970s and at the YMCA Camp of the Rockies. Beckie attended Marvin United Methodist Church until she moved to Houston in the early 1980s. After she and Bill married in 1986, they lived in Splendora, Texas. In 2002 they moved to Mena, Arkansas where they enjoyed their life in the country. One of her favorite pastimes was collecting crystals on her walks with their dogs. She was very involved with the Christ Episcopal Church in Mena and was currently on a committee planning her Covid delayed 50th-year high school reunion to be held in September of this year. Beckie and Bill both participated in triathlons for a while and finished many marathons including Houston, Boston, Pike’s Peak, and New York. They both placed in the top ten amateur categories for their age groups in Houston in the 1990s and were still participating in local races.

Though Beckie had dealt with Addison’s disease and essential thrombocythemia for over 25 years, her enthusiasm for life never waned. She will be dearly missed by her many friends and relatives.