Writes Joseph Becker, acting chairman of the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee: “I met my best friend of nearly a quarter century exactly as I should have – he was expounding the virtues of gold, silver, and platinum to prospective investors. The CFTC ultimately took issue with the innovative ‘lay-away’ plan by which our then-employer hoped to avoid futures regulation, but Kent’s long-term friendship made that short-term job most worthwhile.

“Over the years, I never knew Kent to be short of ingenuity or the diligence necessary to assure its practical implementation. There seemingly was no end to Kent’s energy as I watched him bravely succeed at what others had never even envisioned. In the business realm, these qualities served Kent exceptionally well. In the political sphere, his brilliance and integrity were as rare as they were (and continue to be) desperately needed.

“While Kent’s passion was the advancement of liberty, his compassion for humankind is what made him so effective in those efforts. No one doubted Kent’s genuine goodness. He was the son that all parents dream of. His brother and sisters loved him for his character and devotion. Among his work associates, Kent deserved all the loyalty and productivity he engendered. And, based on my own experience, to his friends, Kent was a beacon of trust and reason. He was, quite simply, the finest person I have ever known.

“It was Kent’s passion for the advancement of liberty, and his and entrepreneurial ability, that landed him a job with Ron Paul, a soft-spoken advocate of liberty and a U.S. Congressman. Initially serving as a top aide in Paul’s quest for the presidency as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988, Kent almost single-handedly persuaded the reluctant Texan to seek the presidency as a Republican in the current cycle. It was a campaign given little or no credence or legitimacy at the outset. Yet, under Kent’s leadership, it was a campaign that surpassed all expectations and outlasted all the so-called ;front-runners,’ with the exception of the eventual nominee. Most importantly, though, as Chairman, Kent assembled and oversaw a team of fellow liberty enthusiasts that created an ongoing movement the likes of which has not been seen since Goldwater, or perhaps even Taft.

“It is, of course, a real tragedy that Kent will not see the achievements certain to emanate from a freedom movement for which he was so responsible. Such, it seems, is often the case for a true hero and pioneer. Anyone fortunate enough to have known Kent knew him to be exactly that.”