Kent Eugene Tuxhorn

Kent was pronounced dead on May, 29, at age 62. But he had passed several days earlier before he was found in his home. He apparently died from a heart attack, or other heart event.

Kent was born in Springfield, IL to Dorothy Jean (Jackson) and Donald Eugene Tuxhorn. Dorothy died in 2012, Don in 2013. He is survived by his brother, Keith Tuxhorn  of Springfield; his aunt and uncle, Shirley and Fred Hagen of Pleasant Plains; and many cousins from the Tuxhorn, Gaffigan, and Hagen families in Illinois and elsewhere. He leaves behind his two sweet cats, Max and BW.

Kent attended Jane Addams Elementary,  Grant Middle, and Springfield Lanphier High School, where he graduated in 1978. He competed in sports briefly at Grant and Lanphier. He went to Grace Lutheran Church regularly with his family in his youth.

Through his life, Kent loved anything with wheels and/or engines. After some years of blue-collar work, Kent found his dream job at R & M Cyclery in Springfield. He worked 12 years at R&M, where he was known as a top-flight repairman, and always friendly and ready to help customers.

Kent began to have heart issues in the late 90s, and had the first of several heart surgeries at that time. Due to this, and other factors, Kent left R&M, and began doing bike repair freelance, which he continued until his death. He did several volunteer jobs through the years, including the Springfield Food Bank warehouse, which was particularly important to him for many years.

Kent occupied much of his time with his love of wheeled and motor sports and activities. Bicycles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, and cars of all kinds, all through history. He loved all types of auto racing, especially Formula 1 and NASCAR races. He was seldom far from a TV when it was race time.

Kent was a great mechanic with more than just bikes, and he worked on dirt bikes, motorcycles, and car engines through his life. And he collected parts of all kinds, both for his own needs, and for their collectability. 

And Kent not only loved motor sport history, he enjoyed learning all that he could about Springfield's past, and the history of central Illinois.He always searched auctions, antique stores, and flea markets for old objects, postcards, books, and any kind of paper history of the area. He also loved digging into Tuxhorn family history, and finding something unique.

He was a fisherman all his life, and knew nearly all the good spots in the area. Over the years, Kent and his best friend Tad explored countless ponds and lakes in search of the next whopper.

Kent struggled with addictions through his life. He was primarily a drug user through his 20s, but  then became mainly a drinker for the rest of his life. While he was able to manage, and occasionally walk away from, his addictions, he could never shake them permanently on his own. It took until 2016 that he agreed to seek help, and entered Gateway Rehab Center. He visited Gateway six times to try to stay sober. He never did, but, by the end of his life, he was doing much better at managing how much he drank, and how often. But the reaction to the death of our parents, and problems with his self-confidence, fed his addictions the last decade of his life.

For those of you reading this who have addiction problems: Ask for help, you are absolutely worthy of receiving it, and you can't beat addictions on your own... And if you have an addict in your life who's still struggling, ask them if they would like to get professional help. And no matter what they say, accept and respect that. And always let them know they have value to this world.

Special thanks to the following: the  staff at Gateway Rehab in Springfield, who Kent loved and respected; all those who attended AA meetings with Kent and gave him support at all times; the Rochester Christian Church Men's Breakfast, who gave him support and hope; and closest friends Dave Ewing, Debbie Herrick, and Tad Allen, who never gave up on him.

The body will be cremated. No formal service will be held, but an evening reception of remembrance will be held in July, place and time to be announced soon.

If you care to donate to honor Kent, please do so, in Kent's memory, to the Grace Lutheran Church Food Pantry, 714 E. Capitol Ave, Springfield IL 62701; or to the Springfield Animal Protective League. 1001 Taintor Rd. Springfield IL 62702.

Evening of Remembrance will be held on Tuesday July 11, 2023 6:00pm-9:00pm at Grace Lutheran Church in Springfield, IL.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kent Eugene Tuxhorn, please visit our floral store.