JOHN B. BRENT

1942-2018

John Brent died peacefully in his sleep on Friday, March 16, 2018, following a long battle with cancer and recent complication from a stroke. He is survived by the wife he adored for over forty years, Anne.

John was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 8, 1942 to Robert James Brent and Evelyn Bosworth Brent. As an infant, he moved with his family to Houston and considered himself to be a proud lifelong Houstonian.

John attended St Anne School, Lanier Middle School and graduated from Lamar High School with highest honors. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with a degree in Mathematics and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He began his business career with Lincoln Property Company, where he became a senior partner. In 1984, John left Lincoln to become a founding Partner of Property Company of America. In addition, John was President and Chairman of JBB Consulting Inc. and a senior vice president of Property Company of America Realty, Inc. During his career as a real estate developer John developed over 2,000 acres of commercial land including the master planned Westwood Project on Beltway 8, 700,000 square feet of office buildings and managed over 3,000,000 square feet of commercial property throughout Texas.

Most of all, John was an avid sportsman. His love of the outdoors began when he caught his first fish in Herman Park followed closely by his first hunting trip on land which now includes the Houston Galleria. From these early adventures, John explored the world, hunting big game in Africa, wing-shooting throughout the United States and Europe, fishing the rivers of Alaska, Montana and Wyoming as well as the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic. John is a past Trustee of Ducks Unlimited and member of the Board for the Houston Chapter where he was elected Sportsman of the Year and Sponsor of the Year.

John loved boats. He grew up sailing on Galveston Bay. Those closest to him lived in fear of the day each month when his boat magazines would be delivered. It seemed that each one had an ad for the one he just had to have next. John had an air boat, several sail boats, a boat he bought on the side of Highway 59 coming back from South Texas (the hole in the bottom was undisclosed) and several more that he enjoyed with his friends at Lakewood Yacht Club.

John’s proudest achievement was the Anacahuita Ranch near Hebbronville, Texas. He purchased a piece of property which was so thick with brush that it was impossible to get to most of it. Over a ten-year period, John transformed the ranch into a premier South Texas hunting property. He was awarded the Land Stewardship Award by the Texas Wildlife Society, the Rangeland Management Award by the Texas Society for Range Management and the Purdey Award for Outstanding Habitat Management for Bobwhite Quail. John and Anne spent many wonderful weekends hunting together and sharing the Anacahuita Ranch with their many friends.

John was a member of River Oaks Country Club, The Coronado Club, Lakewood Yacht Club, The Argyle Club, and The International Order of St. Hubertus.

Beneath his larger than life personality, lived a gentle soul. John found beauty in all of nature, and was a man of very deep faith. On the afternoon before he died, John professed his love of God and said he was ready to be called home. He was intelligent, always good company, enjoyed people and made friends everywhere he went. He shared all he had with friends from a newly discovered fishing hole, a quail hunt at his ranch or a cocktail cruise on Galveston Bay. We will all remember his infectious, if sometimes too loud laugh, his wickedly quick wit and wonderful sense of humor.

John was predeceased by his mother and father, and his brother, Robert J. Brent, Jr. He is survived by his wife, Anne; four nephews, Robert J. Brent III and wife, Ericka, Steve B. Brent and wife, Nicole, John B. Brent and wife, Chelsea and Michael Brent, all of New Orleans, La.; his cousin, Ralph Nix, MD, also of New Orleans, La., numerous nieces and nephews and many, many friends. The family would like to express special thanks to his caregivers, Cynthia Barajas, Marco Nunez, Tracy Porter and Matthew Johnson for their many years of dedicated service.

A memorial mass and celebration of John’s life will be held at two o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, the 20th of March, at St. Anne Catholic Church, 2140 Westheimer Road in Houston.

Prior to the mass, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

The family suggests that in lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed toward the charity of one’s choice.

Vaya Con Dios My Love