Engracia Tovar Kent

MCALLEN - Benita Engracia Tovar Flores de Kent, 92, entered eternal rest on Sunday, December 31, 2023, at the San Juan Nursing Home in San Juan, Tx. where she was surrounded by loved ones and friends. She took her final breaths as they sang a favored song, “Alabare a mi Senor”. Mrs. Kent is preceded in death by her parents, Antonio Tovar and Guadalupe Flores; her husband, Donald James Kent Sr.; son, David Allen Kent.

Mrs. Kent was born on April 16, 1931, in Capultitlan, Toluca, Mexico to Antonio Tovar Rangel and Guadalupe Flores Mejia. Engracia was a beautiful, Christian servant of God, with a strong conviction in her faith. She was devoted to prayer, especially praying the rosary, and shared her devotion with others, encouraging them to pray. She was always equipped to pass out rosaries and pamphlets on how to pray the rosary. Engracia, or “Ita” as she was called, was a loving grandmother to her grandchildren, her tesoros, as she would call them.

Engracia loved the Lord, her family and her parish family. She loved to dance, especially at the baile grandes with Paulino Bernal. She loved songs by Juan Gabriel, Chelo Silva, Cornelio Reyna, and Ramon Ayala to name a few. Known for the “peinado alto” she would create for women especially during the years of the baile grandes, her tenacity and business sense despite a primary level of education, her strong faith and passion for prayer, as well as for her views on various subjects, whether you asked for it or not, Engracia will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Engracia was an owner/operator of her beauty salon with locations in Reynosa, Tamps, south Main Street and south 17th street in McAllen during a span of 50 years. She had also been a distributor for Shaklee products for at least 25 years. Engracia was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Catholic Church where she was an active member. She happily served as a Sacristan, member of the St. Vincent de Paul, teaching beauty techniques to women, Legion of Mary, Parish Council, 500 Club, the Altar Society, and 8am Spanish Choir. Engracia also served as an Extraordinary Minister, Reader, and Catechist for Infant Baptism. She was also a proud member of the Juvenile Court Conference Committee in McAllen.

Her family asks that she be remembered for the happy moments she brought to others in life not the sadness of her passing.

Mrs. Kent is survived by her 3 sons, Donald James Kent Jr., Arnold Paul Kent and Mark Anthony (Sandra L. Cortez) Kent; 5 grandchildren, Michael Anthony (Jesmin Lucio) Kent, David Lee Kent, LeeAnn Renee Kent, Andrew James Kent, and Danielle Brooke Kent (Justin Roberson); her first cousin, Lidia Villavicencio de Galindo from McAllen; numerous family and friends.

The Kent family would like to offer their gratitude to family and friends who have extended their condolences and prayers, those who visited her in the nursing home and especially the San Juan Nursing Home staff who attended to and worked to make mom’s final years of her life comfortable, the countless doctors and specialists who looked after her well-being in her later life and to A Healing Touch Hospice agency for their immediate care in her final days. We will not forget the care and compassion that was given to her.

A Rosary will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, January 5, 2024, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen. A Funeral Mass celebrated by Rev. Thomas Luczak, OFM, will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, January 6, 2024, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Interment will be followed at Roselawn Cemetery in McAllen. The family will receive friends at the church prior to the rosary from 6pm-7pm. Flowers and memorial gifts are welcome but not necessary. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sacred Heart Catholic Church - Altar Society.

Funeral services are under the direction of Legacy Chapels in Edinburg.