photo by: Journal-World/File Photo

James Robert "Bob" Kent pictured in 2004 after retiring from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

The 81-year-old Lawrence man who was found unresponsive in Douglas County’s Lone Star Lake on July 4 was James Robert “Bob” Kent, a retired firefighter.

“Bob Kent died unexpectedly on July 4, 2022 at Lone Like Star doing what he loved — swimming,” an obituary for Kent reads. The obituary notes that he was a competitive swimmer at Wyandotte High School and Carleton College in Minnesota.

Kent was a firefighter with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. He retired at age 63 in 2004. He was also an adjunct researcher in the departments of Special Education and American Studies at the University of Kansas. At the time of his retirement, he was the only firefighter in the history of the department with a doctoral degree. He was also believed to be the oldest firefighter in Lawrence “to actually hang off the side of the truck and run into burning buildings.”

Kent also led the firefighters union for many years.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, an 81-year-old Lawrence man was found unresponsive in the water by a boater July 4 at Lone Star Lake. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was notified around 6:30 a.m., and life-saving measures proved unsuccessful.

An investigation found that Kent was part of a group that regularly swims at the lake and that he had broken off from the group to head back to shore. No foul play was suspected.

Survivors include his wife, Kay Kent, his brother, Jay Kent, and several nephews and nieces. A celebration of life is planned for 2 p.m. Aug. 19 at Arterra Event Gallery, 2161 Quail Creek Drive.