AUBURN – Kent E. Harlow, 74, of Bethel, passed from this life at Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn, on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, due to heart failure and complications from an otherwise promising battle with lung cancer.

He was born to the late Clinton E. and Phyllis F. (Haviland) Harlow in Brockton, Mass., on Sept. 27, 1949. After graduating from Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School in 1967 he served his country in the Navy Reserves and aboard the USS Glennon, then received a B.A. in Earth Sciences and Geology from Bridgewater State College in 1973.

Kent was an avid outdoorsman. The home of his heart was the family camp in Ossipee, N.H., where he enjoyed fishing, boating, hiking, visiting with friends and reading a good book by the wood stove. Like his father before him, raising seedlings and keeping a vegetable garden was central to his life. He also loved skiing, bicycling and racquet sports.

After a short teaching career, he became a land surveyor, then held multiple management-level positions at Boise Cascade Paper Mill in Rumford. He worked several semi-retirement jobs before finding his calling at Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation. There he enjoyed many years of helping disabled people participate in the sports he loved.

Kent is survived by his wife of 41 years, Janis (Jana) P. Kibbe. He leaves behind his sister Judith (Harlow) Smith and her husband James, his brother Bradford, and their children and grandchildren. He also leaves behind his sister-in-law Kathryn A. (Kibbe) Manchester and her family, his mother-in-law June P. Kibbe, and his beloved yet rather annoying Siamese cat Chloe.

Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, 45 Main St., South Paris, ME. Online condolences may be shared with his family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com.

Donations in Kent’s memory can be made to Responsible Pet Care, PO Box 82,

Norway, ME 04268.