Kent Bradley Hovland, 64, passed peacefully in his home on December 1, 2020.
His story began May 7, 1956, in Seoul, South Korea. At four years old he was adopted by American missionaries, Carroll and Anita Hovland, and went home with them to Inchon, South Korea on January 29, 1960. He had two brothers, Laird and Brook. The Hovland family moved to the states in the mid-sixties. Kent became a U.S. citizen and the family eventually landed in Bozeman, Montana where he would attend school and lay his roots.
In his late teens, he decided to take his adventure outside of Bozeman. He enlisted in the Navy and attained his GED. While stationed in California, he met Linda, his future wife to be of 40-plus years. His new love, Linda, steered him in a different direction, and let's just say the Navy didn't work out for Kent after that. Linda had a son, Karl, from a former marriage. Kent had the beginnings of a new family. Serenity, his first daughter, was born in the fall of 1980. The California lifestyle was too fast for the new family, so they set out to Montana where Kent grew up. Anna Lisa, his second daughter, and last child, was born in Bozeman in 1984.
In 1988 Kent and Linda purchased their own little piece of land in Belgrade, Montana, and called it home for the rest of their days. He was an outdoorsman, a rockhound, and often coined himself as "Gem Man”. If you knew Kent, you knew you could spot him donning a Hawaiian shirt and roaming around Montana dirt. He was a multi-faceted individual and found joy in more things than just camping and the great outdoors. He was a gifted piano player and loved music, playing with gadgets, learning and building new things on the internet, and being a jokester. He would use "punny" ways to blend foreign languages with English. In parting, he would sometimes announce "Our feet are the same” or "Don't spit on ya” to incite a laugh. Kent always had an enterprising spirit but found his primary line of work as a chef.
Kent was loved and will be missed. He is survived by daughters, Serenity (Craig) Hammerland and Anna (Jacob) Reijgers; stepson, Karl (Charlene) Rink; six grandchildren; and brothers, Laird and Brook Hovland. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Linda Rink. Please join us for a virtual memorial at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, January 31, 2021, at on Zoom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81811647363?pwd=TlQycE92by82Um5adVNzTmwzY2dYZz09
