Norman F. Lent, Jr.   [1931-2012]

Norman Frederick Lent, Jr. served in the U. S. Congress as a representative of Long Island, NY for 11 sessions from January 3, 1971 until January 3, 1993. Prior to his U.S. Congress service he was a representative in the NY State Senate for Nassau County from 1963 until 1970.

Lent was a descendant of the early Dutch who settled in the New York area in the seventeenth century. He claimed descent from Abraham de Ryck who came to New Netherland in 1637. As a descendant of the early Dutch he was entitled to membership in the Holland Society of New York which he joined in 1986.

Lent received a BA degree from Hofstra University in 1952 following which he served in Korea as a naval lieutenant from 1952 to 1954. After his military service he attended Cornell Law School and received his JD degree in 1957.

During the years that he was not active in public service he practiced law. Following his congressional service he became a senior law partner in the firm Lent, Scrivener, Roth, LLC.

Lent became the ranking minority member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. He became known for his willingness to compromise and was one of the first Green Republicans who did not see the environment as an enemy.

Lent co-sponsored the 1980 law creating the Superfund to clean up the nation’s hazardous waste sites. In 1990 he co-sponsored, with Michigan’s John Dingell, amendments to the Clean Air Act.

Lent served as vice chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1972 until 1992. He also served as a delegate to several Republican National Conventions.

For his public service contributions Lent received several awards. Hofstra University bestowed on him the George Estabrook Distinguished Service Award in 1967, and the State of Israel awarded him the Prime Minister’s Medal in 1977.

Lent was born on March 23, 1931 in Oceanside, NY. In 1956 he married Nancy Lou Budlong with whom he had three children. He divorced in 1974 and married Barbara Ann Morris in 1979. He passed away on June 11, 2012. In addition to his children he also has five grandchildren.

Lent’s internment with full military honors was held 0n October 22, 2012 at Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

 

REFERENCES

Norman Frederick Lent, Jr., Obituary in DE HALVE MAEN, Journal of the Holland Society of New York, Fall 2012, page 63.

Norman F. Lent, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_F._Lent

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