Kent Paul Ingrum

Kent shared nearly 49 years of marriage with his wife, Connie, and was a proud dad to their daughter, Adrienne. Together, they built a life centered around music, which was not just his livelihood, but the heartbeat of their family.

Kent dedicated his life to teaching music to middle school and high school students, shaping generations with his patience, humor, and steady encouragement. At home, music was a shared language. Connie would accompany his students on piano, while a young Adrienne sat beside her, carefully turning pages. In time, Adrienne grew into that role herself, accompanying students just as her mom had—continuing a quiet family tradition of supporting Kent’s teaching and the students he cared so deeply about.

Even as Alzheimer’s gradually took hold, music remained Kent’s constant. Whenever Adrienne visited, she and Connie would sit down together to play piano duets. Hearing the music, Kent would often come in and join them, sitting at the drum set and playing along. In those moments, the illness seemed to fall away, and what remained was the same man who had always found joy, connection, and purpose through music.

When it came time to move Kent to a memory care facility, bringing a full drum set along might have caused more of a ruckus than the other residents would have appreciated, but a practice pad and a pair of drumsticks proved to be just right. With them, Kent would still run his drills, tap out rhythms, and even offer impromptu lessons to his nurses. In those moments, he was fully himself—focused, engaged, and at peace.

Kent was someone you could always count on—always ready with a helping hand, whether that meant transporting and setting up the equipment for countless music concerts, finding an instrument for a student who couldn’t afford one, or volunteering his time at golf tournaments.

Kent’s generosity extended beyond his classroom and his daily life. When the opportunity arose to participate in a medical trial for dementia, he chose to take part—not because he expected it to help him, but because he hoped it might help others in the future. Having lost his own dad to Alzheimer’s, he carried a sense of purpose in that decision, believing his dad would be proud of him for it.

We will remember him not for what was lost, but for the music he shared, the kindness he gave, and the steady presence he was to everyone who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Alzheimer’s research at https://www.alz.org/