Henry Gibson Trent, Jr.

Henry Gibson Trent, Jr., age 93, passed away April 2, 2021. He was born in Knoxville, TN on August 26, 1927, and was the only child of Henry G. Trent, Sr. of Knoxville, TN and Katherine Cooper Brabson of Greeneville, TN. The family resided in Knoxville for several years, but, moved to Cookeville, TN in 1940. Mr. Trent attended Tennessee Tech in Cookeville and was graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1949. After receiving an academic scholarship to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, he graduated in 1950 with a Master’s Degree in History. He was elected to SMU’s student council, was elected to the National Honorary History Fraternity, and completed his Master’s thesis in nine months.

He taught school several years and then entered the insurance industry as an adjuster with Crawford and Company of Atlanta, GA. He was then transferred to Knoxville, TN when he met and married Sophie A. Shadow of Decatur, TN. After several transfers and promotions, Henry and Sophie moved to Atlanta, GA where they lived for 26 years and raised their two boys, Henry, III and William.

In Atlanta, he was very active in the insurance industry and served as President of the Atlanta Claims Association and the Atlanta Claims Managers Council. Additionally, he was a member of the Southern Loss Association, The Blue Goose Association and served as a chairman on the Intea – Company Arbitration Council. He served on the Georgia National Automobile Theft Bureau. He served on the committee that introduced no fault coverage to Georgia, and resided as its Atlanta chairman. He was elected claims secretary of the Home Insurance Company in 1970. After leaving The Home, he worked as a consultant for Alexander and Alexander, and Gay and Taylor in Atlanta. He retired, and he, Sophie, and his son Henry moved to Athens, TN.

In Athens, he was a member of The Sons of the Revolution and maintained his membership in American Mensa. Henry was President of The Friends of the Library for several years, and was a member of The First Families of Tennessee. He was also a member of the Athens Kiwanis Club, the American Legion and The East Tennessee Historic Society and the McMinn County Museum and served on their Board of Directors. Finally, He was honored to have been recognized by Who’s Who in America for several years.

Preceded in death by his parents, Henry G. Trent, Sr. and Katherine Cooper Brabson and the love of his life, wife, Sophie Shadow Trent.

He is survived by his 2 sons, Henry and William (Lora) and their 3 children, William, Sophie, and Joseph all of Atlanta, GA.

A celebration of life will be set at a later date.