John E. Lent MD

John Emery Lent went to heaven on February 16, 2024. He died peacefully at St. Francis Home after an 11 day stay at SSM from complications of dementia. His loving children and wife, Barbara, surrounded him.
John was born on May 4, 1941 in Fall River, MA to Dr. James Webber Lent and Margaret Lent. He was raised in Tiverton, Rhode Island. He was a 1958 graduate of De La Salle Christian Academy in Newport, RI and a 1962 cum laude graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He graduated in 1966 from Georgetown Medical School with honors. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed an internship at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he was voted the intern of the year. His internal medicine residency was also completed at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He served two years in the United States Navy stationed at Camp Le Jejune, NC. He attained rank of Lt. Commander and was in charge of all dependent medicine for the Marine base. After his service in the Navy, he returned to Milwaukee, WI to complete a cardiology fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
In 1973, the Lent family moved to Fond du Lac where they have lived for 50 years. Dr. Lent practiced internal medicine and cardiology for 37 years at the Fond du Lac Regional Clinic and Aurora Healthcare. He loved the intellectual stimulation of cardiology, but he loved helping and interacting with his patients even more. He was always available for some medical advice after church, in the grocery store, on the football field or where ever people needed him. The guiding principle of his life was to follow the Gospel message of Jesus Christ: love God and love your neighbor. He was very motivated to serve the underserved in Fond du Lac and in Rosita, Nicaragua.
In addition to his practice, Dr. Lent was committed and involved in the Fond du Lac community. He was one of the original founders of the Samaritan Free Clinic at the Salvation Army. For his efforts he, received the Physician Citizen of the Year award from the Wisconsin State Medical Society. He was also the co-founder of Community Education Opportunity ("CEO"), an organization that raised funds from the private sector to help students in need attend private schools of their choice in Fond du Lac. CEO existed until School Choice came into existence. He received the Carl Tonges Volunteer Award and the Legacy Award for Outstanding Philanthropy Award from the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. In 2023, Dr. Lent and his wife Barbara received the Treasures the Church award from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
His faith life was extremely important to him. He was a member of St. Joseph's Church and then Holy Family Catholic Community where he served as a parish trustee and sang in the choir for many years. He lived his life seeing the face of God in all people.
In 2002, Dr. Lent and his wife helped found United Hearts for Health ("UHH"). UHH was the health care arm of Holy Family's Sister Parish relationship with Rosita, Nicaragua. For 15 years, he traveled to Rosita to help raise their standard of health care. He was responsible for building a deep well at the hospital in Rosita that provided potable water for the hospital and the community. A United States Ambassador traveled to Rosita for the dedication of the well, and Dr. Lent gave a speech in Spanish. He brought three patients to the United States for treatment and was responsible for numerous health care improvements in Rosita. Many of the citizens of Rosita knew him on a personal basis.
While wintering in Tucson, AZ, Dr. Lent worked in a free clinic called Clinica Amistad and also served as a medical provider for people seeking asylum on the border. He was a member of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Tucson where he sang in the choir.
Besides practicing medicine, his passions included fishing, reading books (theology, especially), tending to his tomato and raspberry plants, and chopping wood. His favorite place was Northern Wisconsin. He loved swimming laps in Lake Thompson and riding around in a pontoon boat with his wife at the helm.
He loved his children and grandchildren and was very proud of all their achievements. Most of all, he was happy that they all grew up to be nice people who contribute to the communities they live in.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Barbara, and his five children- Christopher(Jackie), Margaret(Jason), Annie, Jack and Kathryn; his seven grandchildren- Grace, Anna, John, Cameron, Evan, Emery and Thatcher; and his brothers and sisters – James Lent (Jo Ann), Alice Nolan, Jan Lent, Jane Lent Saur(Joseph). He had many wonderful nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by sister, Mary Lou Marnock, his brother, Harry Lent, and his brother-in-law, Barney Nolan.
John's family invites friends and relatives to a time of visitation on Friday, February 23, 2024 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Fond du Lac from 9:00 AM until 10:45 AM. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will take place following the visitation at 11:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Vincent de Paul/ Katharine Drexel Homeless Shelter, P O Box 1473 and Holy Family Catholic Community/ Warming Shelter. Thank you to the wonderful care in the ED at SSM, to the nurses on 5W, to Palliative Care at SSM, Dr. Kumar and Jodi Budwit. Thank you too to Aurora Hospice and to friends who offered friendship during Dr. Lent's illness.