Graveside services for Ted Lee Dent, 79, of Nacogdoches will be at 1:00pm on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Sunset Memorial Park. A family gathering will be held prior at 12:00pm at Laird Funeral Home.  Mr. Dent passed away on Sunday, November 9, 2025 in Tyler.  He was born on September 9, 1946 in Timpson.  

Ted was born on September 6, 1946 in the small town of Timpson, Texas. He was the youngest of six children by eleven years of parents Roy and Mary O’Dell Dent. He was active in his church, Boy Scouts, and played trumpet in high school band. He graduated from Timpson High School in May 1964 and enrolled in Stephen F. Austin University in the fall of that year.

He met his future wife, Patricia Louvier, in freshman English class and they married in June of 1968. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in February 1969. After basic training, Drum and Bugle Corp, and Airframe Structural Repairman training, he spent six months at Randolph AFB in Texas. He was then sent on a year’s unaccompanied tour of duty in Thailand. Upon completion he was assigned to duty at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas where his unit was sent on TDY (Temporary Duty) assignments from one to six months to bases in England and Panama.

In February 1976 he and Pat were sent on his first long overseas tour of duty to Bitburg, Germany where they got to experience the beautiful and interesting German culture. He spent 26 years in the Air Force and was stationed at various bases in England and Arizona. He retired in  February 1995 and moved back to live in Nacogdoches, where he went back to college and earned his bachelor’s degree.

 He enjoyed trying new careers like drawing computer generating blueprints and having an online auction on E-Bay. He liked challenging himself by building projects using his skills with metal. His special interests throughout his life were bowling, photography, riding motorcycles, and listening to music (collecting hundreds of vinyl LP records). And like all the Dents, he loved his family and enjoyed getting together with them.

He is preceded in death by his mother and father and his five siblings: Roy, Ouida, Troy, Rodell, and Jack.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia and numerous nephews and nieces.