Obituary of Jeffrey Alan Sargent

For the past few days, people have called the home of Charles and Betty Sargent to talk about their son, Jeffrey Alan Sargent. The callers tell the Sargents that their son helped them straighten out, and they owe their lives to him, his father said. Although he was not an alcoholic, his father said, Mr. Sargent helped out with Alcoholics Anonymous and sometimes spoke at meetings. That was typical of the man, his father said. Wherever he could help, he would go. Mr. Sargent, of Edgewood, died Friday in an auto accident on Madison Pike, just about three miles from his parents' home. He was 42. Mr. Sargent graduated from Simon Kenton High School in 1982, where he was voted most school-spirited. He went into the Army, but left after two years because of medical problems, his father said. He did factory work, sometimes two jobs at a time to support his family. He worked 18 or 19 years as a manager at what is now Loreal USA in Florence, then a few years for Wild Flavors in Erlanger. When he wasn't working, he volunteered as a coach for several youth baseball teams, including the Kenton County Little Colonels. "He loved to teach the kids what he could," his father said. He expected a lot from his charges. "He thought they ought to be as good as he was," his father said. Mr. Sargent also played and coached softball on various teams at local parks. He had an extensive baseball card collection, and in one trip spent more than $7,000 buying cards, his father said. Mr. Sargent was a member of the Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Independence. He made friends easily. His father wasn't sure the funeral home would have enough parking spaces to accommodate everyone who cared for him. Survivors other than his parents include his wife, Lisa M. Albertson Sargent; a daughter, Brooke Sargent of Edgewood; sons, Randy Sargent and Cameron Sargent, both of Edgewood; a brother, Joe Sargent of Florence; and grandmothers, Pauline Sargent of Dry Ridge and Mary Morgan of Florence. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Independence. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.