Nancy Bent
November 11, 1958 - November 12, 2024
PORTLAND, OR - Nancy Bent was born to Irvan and Gladys Bent, on November 11, 1958. Her sisters, Lois and Susan warmly welcomed her into their family. In October 1959, following a tragic car accident, her parents' lives were untimely cut short, leaving she and her sisters to be raised by their paternal grandparents.
Nancy graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1977. She then attended Montana State University, Billings (Eastern Montana College), and earned a Bachelor's degree in Accounting in 1982. Fondly recalling her initial high school accounting class, she recognized her passion for accounting when the numerical columns aligned perfectly.
In the fall of 1984, she relocated to Portland, OR, where she held various positions at several financial institutions. Nancy possessed an exceptional ability to identify and rectify errors in financial records, even when the discrepancies amounted to millions of dollars over many months. She loved the challenge of maximizing the effectiveness of her financial resources, otherwise known as the ability the eek the life out of an object well beyond it prime.
Nancy was known for her dry snappy wit, as well as her talent for composing customized lyrics to celebrate individuals or occasions. Portland became her beloved home, and she embraced its cloudy and rainy weather, finding it preferable to the cold and snowy conditions of her native Montana. Nancy adored her niece and nephews and made frequent visits to Montana, particularly during the Christmas season.
In 2005 and 2016, Nancy received cancer diagnoses. She courageously underwent rigorous treatment regimens, demonstrating remarkable resilience. However, a third diagnosis in 2024 proved to be overwhelming, depleting her physical strength and diminishing her emotional fortitude. On November 12, 2024, age 66 years and 1 day old, she peacefully passed away in Beaverton, OR.
Nancy was predeceased by her eldest sister, Lois Bent, in 2010, and her beloved nephew, Tim Stabio, in 2023. She will be profoundly missed by her sister, Susan Stabio (Roger), her nieces: Emily Ita (Drue) and Anna Stabio (Tim), and her nephew, Robert Stabio (Maureen), as well as her four great-nieces and three great-nephews.
Funeral service in Billings will be November 20, 11:00 a.m. at Smith's West, A light lunch will follow in the reception room. Interment at Bostic Cemetery in Bridger, MT, at 2:00 p.m. A memorial service in Portland will be held at Hillcrest Bible Church, 4747 SW Cameron Rd., Portland, OR, at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Portland Salvation Army or the Portland Union Gospel Mission in memory of Nancy Bent.
