John Kent Graham, of Moore, Okla., died Sept. 14, 2024, at home, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 77.

Kent was born in Canyon, Texas, to John and Edith, nee Neill, Graham. He is survived by his wife Lyn; his sons Justin (Kimber) Graham, Colonel Jonathan (Dana) Graham, USAF, and Jeremy Graham; his grandchildren Keira, Riley, Duncan and Danielle; as well as his siblings and many nieces and nephews.

Kent's family moved to Lubbock, Texas, and he attended Monterey High School, graduating in 1965. He then attended Texas Tech University, where he met Lyn Valentine. They married in 1970. In that same year, he graduated and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

During his 28 years of Active Duty service, Kent was stationed in five states as well as in Germany and South Korea. He also deployed to support operations in various hotspots around the globe, including Operations NORTHERN WATCH and SOUTHERN WATCH. He was a member of the initial instructor cadre at Tinker Air Force Base for the E-3 AWACS when it was a brand-new plane in the Air Force inventory. Kent retired in 1998 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After retirement, Kent enrolled at the University of Oklahoma under the GI Bill, where he earned a bachelor's and master's degrees in professional writing. He became an adjunct instructor for OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, teaching writing for 17 years.

Outside of teaching, Kent sang with four community choirs; sang with Canterbury Voices, a premier symphony chorus of Oklahoma; and was a member of the City of Moore Planning Commission for 20 years. Kent also volunteered many hours during his time here and abroad. He was a volunteer at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped where he narrated newspapers and edited various newspapers and electronic books.

Kent had a great love for music and books. He spent time as a college radio station DJ in his post-retirement return to school, and built a library measured in the hundreds. Many dogs and cats spent time at his feet and in his lap. He was witty and kind; a good father and husband. He will be greatly missed.

Kent was a firm supporter of free speech and was a strong opponent to censorship of any kind in any form. He was passionate about gun control; freedom from hunger and food insecurity; and about free access to information for everyone. Memorial gifts may be made to the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, the ACLU, Feed the Children, Sandy Hook Promise, or Americans United for Separation of Church and State.