When the sale of Frank Kent Motor Co. closed in early October, it marked the end of an era for a Fort Worth business that bore its founder’s name and remained under family ownership for nine decades.
Frank Kent was a Missouri native who found his way to Fort Worth in 1917 in pursuit of a local young woman. That mission was interrupted by the United States’ entrance into World War I, which saw Kent serve in France with an all-Black Army regiment that earned fame as the “Harlem Hellfighters.”
After the war, Kent would return to Texas, get married, build a successful auto dealership empire and leave a lasting legacy in the city that he embraced as his home. He was known for his engagement in the community, serving on numerous boards and even reaching out to strangers to congratulate them on promotions when he read about them in the newspaper…