Kent Halford Meline

Kent Meline, 76 of Aubrey, Texas is a long time parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church. He passed peacefully Friday, 9 September 2022 surrounded with his loving family and dog Walter at his bedside.
Kent Meline, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, mentor, musician, botanist, chemist and friend was born on the 12th of June 1946 in Burley, Idaho, to Carl Walter Meline and Dora Grace Meline.
He married Claire Meline of Oroquieta City, Philippines and was gifted with a son Keith Meline. He was a devoted husband and father throughout his life. He will be greatly missed by them.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and siblings: Mayna, Donald, Gary and Jeany. He was survived by his brother Dr. Lewis Meline, Marian Steel and his wife Claire. He is also survived by his children Keith and Andrea (from a previous marriage) and 4 grandchildren. Kent is survived by his nephews and nieces, whom he considered like his own: Trista Frank, Dr. Jared Helms, Engr. Brendon Helms, Preston Helms as well as the children of his other siblings.
A viewing and a rosary will be held at Slay Funeral Homes at Aubrey, Texas from 6 to 8 pm on Sunday 18 September 2022. A Catholic funeral will be on Monday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Martin of Porres Catholic Church at Prosper, Texas. Interment will follow thereafter at Restland Cemetery, Dallas.
The type of man Kent is:
When we are invited to a party or a wedding, he always will sit down far away from the main activity. He never wanted to have all of the attention focused on himself and he would even do this if it meant disrupting a seating arrangement.
He loved to support the missionaries of the Catholic Church and the Christian faith.
He is a man of reputation, integrity, education, with the understanding and passion about plants. Work on off work speciality and collect plants. He loved to travel and enjoy culture, food, people, language, and plants. We met because of plants.
He was a hard worker and loved his job at BASF, where he worked for 41 years. During his time there, he was a pioneer amongst his 7 state North West Territory. He knew anything and everything about agricultural products, and what farmers needed to have successful tree fruit crops. Before he retired, he often would say "I don't need to 'retire', I would gladly work for free."
By Keith:
During the Pandemic of 2020, Dad unfortunately fell and broke his leg. He was trying to walk and carry a beer (always trying to do a little too much at times, right? haha) Despite the pain, he took the injury like a champ and started working on walking again, however since we were under pandemic 'rules', he was trapped in a pretty uncomfortable nursing home. I came back to Washington and will always remember how happy he was when we would visit through his dusty little window. We eventually removed part of the window screen so we could pass him whole plates of home cooked meals. Even though his situation was very uncomfortable he kept a positive attitude. Once we broke him out of the home, we were ready to move to Texas and be together.
Dad absolutely loved living in downtown Dallas. Honestly, I think this might have been one of his favorite places he's lived in. No, it wasn't entirely because he lived with me, but having access to so many fun restaurants and events was wonderful to him. Our daily ritual included walks by the rooftop pool where we would often stay till the sun would set. I'll always remember the many hours spent up here, either watching airplanes approaching to land or working on physical therapy exercises.
6 months later we moved into our current house and he was ecstatic at the new build. The change of scenery and being out more towards the country was a welcome change of pace too. Now that we were in our own home, we were able to start doing Dialysis in the comfort of our home. Treatments 5 days a week for 3 hours+ was certainly a challenge.. And once again, when faced with an uncomfortable situation, he kept the most positive attitude. We kept ourselves busy during this time with TV shows that dad certainly loved. I encourage you to check these out since he loved them.. Often watching each show/season multiple times: The Planet Earth Series, Pawn Stars, Worst Cooks In America, Goliath, Gas Monkey Garage, and his recent favorite, Naked and Afraid.
When we could, we would still venture out of the house, frequenting our favorite restaurants, and even trying new ones. The thing he loved (and has always loved) was anything to do with airplanes. If there was an airshow, we were there. We got to see an up close start up of FIFI a b-24 superfortress. Another time we got to see a Redtail p-51 fly. At a different show we picked a back lot to watch the Blue Angels Perform maneuvers only a few hundred feet above us. Dad made his typical style of joke, and said something funny about the benefit of being parity deaf.
In my life, one of my favorite memories will be the opportunity to take dad on a ride in a DC-3 from WWII named "That's ALl Brother". He was so surprised when I gave him the news. Not being able to fully walk at the time, you could tell he was worried that this was some cruel joke. However, with help, we were able to get strapped in for a flight around Dallas. Afterwards he turned to me and told me "I could die today, as a happy man, accomplishing everything I wanted to do in life".
But he didn't then, and God continued to bless him and this family with many more memories. He will be truly missed, but I am sure he is still smiling in heaven, that unmistakable 'Kent' smile.
Online condolences may be shared at www.slaymemorialfuenralhome.com.
Memorial donations may be made to the Knights of Columbus Council 17304, St. Martin of Porres Catholic Church at Prosper, Texas.
Arrangements are under the direction of Brad Shotts and Slay Memorial Funeral center.