WINTERPORT – Kent Pettengill Saunders, 57, of Hallowell, passed away peacefully June 22, in his sleep of heart failure at his parents’ home in Winterport.

He was born Sept. 30, 1950, in Ithaca, N.Y.

He attended elementary schools in Old Town, Orono, Boxford, Mass., and Winterport. He spent four years of high school at the American International School of Kabul, Afghanistan, graduating in 1969.

He received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Maine and his master’s of business administration from Pacific University. He served in the U.S. Army four years, stationed at Fort Myers, Alexandria, Va., working in Washington, D.C., at the Pentagon as a finance specialist.

He was employed by the state of Maine for more than 20 years in the Department of Transportation, as a financial controller and the Department of Labor as an economic research analyst, where he was well-liked and respected by his associates.

He was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendents, lived seven years in Afghanistan during the 1960s, and traveled widely around the world with his family. Last, but by no means least, he loved all sports. He was a good player and an avid Red Sox and Celtics fan to put it mildly.

He is survived by his parents, Dr. Richard Saunders and Geraldine (Pettengill) Saunders of Winterport; his younger sister, Jane Saunders McCarthy of Winterport and her daughters, Molly of Portland, Caitlin of Washington, D.C., and Quincy of Emanuel College, Boston; his younger brother, Ross Owen Saunders and wife, Ann, and daughters, Adelle and Alana and son, Reece, all of Saco; and Kent’s many close Pettengill family, relatives and long-time residents of Leeds. He was a fine, caring, competent person and will be missed by his family, his friends and associates at the Department of Labor and DOT, his schoolmates and Army buddies, with whom he remained in contact throughout the years.