Kent Anderson

Arlin Kent Anderson, 79, of Brady, Nebraska, died July 14, 2020 in North Platte, NE.

He was born January 24, 1941 in Gothenburg, NE, son of Harlin Stanley and Jennie (Johnson) Anderson; the fourth child in a family of eight.  Because of the similarity between his given name of Arlin and his father's name of Harlin, Kent started going by his middle name.    The family moved many times while he was growing up.  At age 16, Kent started working at Healey's Hay Mill as a chopper and truck driver; he advanced up the line until he was head mechanic. He went to work for Monroe's in Cozad in 1961.  In 1963, Kent was drafted into the US Army, where he served for two years.  After his discharge, he returned to work at Monroes.  He later became a plumber for Aupperleys.  Kent was a hard worker, he was a brick layer, carpenter and jack-of-all trades.  Kent married Pat Hild in 1976 and they became a family with daughter Lisa and son Christopher; making their home in the Brady area.

Music was a very important part of Kent's life.  He and his siblings started out learning music early in life.  They would learn instruments and sing and play along with the radio.  This love of music took them to many places and events; they were asked to sing and play for weddings, anniversaries and many other events.  Kent joined the band "The Sundowners" and they traveled thousands of miles and played in almost every state.  He later played with "The Rebels"; playing at everything from State Fairs to Prisons. Kent played back up for Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, David Frizzell, Buddy Allen, Susan Rae, Waylon Jennings, Pat Butron, The Forester Sisters, Don Gibson, and Myron Floren. Kent was inducted into the Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

Kent will be greatly missed by his family; wife Patricia of Brady; daughter Lisa (Charles) Petska of Cozad; son Christopher (Beth) Anderson of McCook; grandchildren Ashley Kay (Ashton) Hochetstler and Halie Dawn Petska of Cozad; three great grandchildren Aubrey, Austin and Ayden Hochetstler of Cozad; his siblings Roger (Sandy) Anderson of Brady, Yvonne Hueftle of Brady, Janice (Dick) Sprague of North Platte, Carolyn Looses of Mesa, AZ, brother-in-law Lyle McCarter of Lincoln; along with many nieces and nephews, extended family and friends including his music family.

Kent was preceded in death by his son Jason Ardale; his parents Harlin and Jennie Anderson; siblings Stanley Anderson, Sharon Land, Shiela McCarter, Robert and Bethel Hild and  Robert brother-in-law Hild, Jr.

Register book signing will take place on Friday, July 24, 2020 at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the family for later designation.