More detail on this person: Roy Charles Gentry,
78, passed away on December 1, 2013. He was
born on a farm near Dexter, New Mexico on August
10, 1935, he married Gerry DeSmith Hardy on June
25, 1994 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Charles graduated high school in Roswell, New
Mexico in 1952 and New Mexico Military Institute
in 1956. While attending NMMI, Charles was
elected All-Conference in football for four years
as well as winning the State Golden Gloves boxing
heavyweight title. He was inducted into the NMMI
Hall of Fame in 1986.
Upon graduation, he entered the Army Corps of
Engineers. During active duty he flew Army fixed
and rotary wing aircraft with four overseas
assignments in Germany, Libya, Iran and Vietnam.
Charles was medically discharged in 1966 as the
result of wounds sustained when his helicopter was
shot down in Vietnam. During his military service,
he received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star,
Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous Air
Medals.
Charles graduated top student at Texas Tech
School of Law in 1969 and served as a trustee of
the Texas Tech Law Foundation. Before entering
private law practice in Washington, D.C., Dallas,
and Austin, he served as Legislative Director for
U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, Special Assistant to
the Attorney General as a White House Fellow,
legal advisor to the National League of Families
of POW's and MIA's in Vietnam, and Director of the
Clean Lakes Program at the newly created
Environmental Protection Agency. In 1992 he
returned to Washington, D.C. as Chief of Staff to
U.S. Senator Pete Domenici. Upon public service
retirement, he consulted in Washington, D.C. on
public policy issues related to science and
nuclear weapons.
After retirement, he and his wife Gerry logged
thousands of miles in overseas travel, as well as
domestic adventures in their RV. Their home was a
log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
In 2005, they moved to Tierra Linda Ranch in
Kerrville, Texas.
Those left to cherish and honor Charles' memory
are his wife, Gerry Gentry of Kerrville; one son,
one daughter, one sister, four grandchildren, one
nephew along with many neighbors and friends.
Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior
Project, Kerrville Humane Society or the charity
of your choice.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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