Col. Kent Maynard, 81, a longtime resident of Winnetka who became a career military pilot and elevated simple living to an art form during his long retirement, died Monday, May 29, of leukemia in Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, near the Florida home where he had lived for eight years. Born in Chicago, Col. Maynard went to New Trier High School in Winnetka and in 1940 graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell University while on an ROTC scholarship. He was almost immediately called to active duty in the Army, serving first as a field artillery officer before he qualified for pilot training with the Army Air Forces. As a cargo plane pilot during World War II, he airlifted paratroopers and material during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, supported the Battle of the Bulge and participated in the defense of Bastogne. When the war ended, he spent years living and traveling in Europe, but he was called up to active duty again during the Korean War, and again to support troops fighting in Vietnam. When he retired from active duty military service in 1968, he had served with the Army, the Air National Guard and the Air Force. In his retirement, he was an irreverent, big man with bushy eyebrows who often told his children–and others who would listen–that life could be reduced to a much simpler form. He aspired only to play tennis, which he eventually did well enough to win a few shelves full of trophies, and spent his evenings attending parties, playing backgammon and reading. A part-time resident of Florida, he was perpetually tanned. He became known among Florida retirees as Vista Harbor’s unofficial welcoming party. “He was kind of a blustery, outspoken personality,” recalled his son, Kent Jr. “He kept people laughing.” In addition to his son, Col. Maynard is survived by two daughters, Janet LaDouceur and Andrea Montross; a brother, Rodney; and nine grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Thursday in Florida. Another service is being planned for the Chicago area.
