This family is asking you to pay it forward this week in honor of their brother
If you go out to eat at any point this week, one family is asking you to pay it forward by either tipping your server 100% or picking up another table’s bill.
Why? Because that’s what their brother would want.
Kent Jost died at the age of 60 on Sept. 16, 2024. His siblings Keith Jost and Karen McLinden want to celebrate his memory at the year mark of his passing, and told The Eagle this weeklong event represents Kent’s legacy perfectly.
“Something he loved to do anonymously was to pay it forward,” Keith Jost said. “What I hope to gain from it [is] not only to remember Kent, but just the thought of paying it forward. Help others in need, that’s a great way to do it.”
The event’s flyer asks people to dine out at their favorite restaurant any time from Sept. 14 to Sept. 24 and either tip their server 100% or pay it forward to another table. They are also asking for those who do so to write “Remember Kent” on the receipt.
While Kent loved to pay it forward when he was dining out, his generosity did not end there, McLinden said.
“We heard stories before the funeral of him helping somebody that he didn’t even know [who] had a house fire, and he helped put them up and get restarted in a new location,” she said. “We heard another story of him helping a friend start a business who had a lot of potential but no resources.”
“The stories we heard were just endless.”
Kent was involved in many things including golfing, horseback riding, softball and his job at Wray Roofing — just to name a few.
Most recently, McLinden said, Kent was heavily involved in his church, Life.Church west, where he was a greeter. The siblings said he used that greeter role to bless other peoples’ lives.
“I’ve heard it said many times, everybody will tell you, when you leave a conversation with Kent, you wonder how he was, because he always made it about you, he always asked about you and how you were. He never talked about himself,” she said. “He was always so concerned about making sure everybody else was good and okay and happy.”
But don’t be fooled, it wasn’t all serious conversations with him, McLinden said.
“If there was a prank we had, somehow he was always the quiet one that would come up with it, and it was Keith and I that would end up pulling it off or getting caught,” she said. “He would be the instigator, but would always hide in the background.”
Kent’s obituary says the same thing: “He liked to trick people, and often acted like he had nothing to do with it. Just when you thought he was a well-mannered mama’s boy, he would surprise you. His orneriness was all in good fun, as he just loved to make people smile,” it reads.
The most important part of Kent’s life was his family and grandkids, McLinden said.
“His grandkids were his world,” McLinden said.
At the time of Kent’s passing, he had 9 grandkids, according to his obituary. He welcomed a new one this week, McLinden said.
Kent is survived by his wife, Kim, his mother, Joan, his three children and their mother, Diane, and his four stepchildren, according to his obituary.
“He gave [family] all the same attention,” Jost said. “Whether that was coaching them in a sport or helping them with their automobile … every way he was blessed he could give.”
The siblings hope the impact of the week is widespread.
“There’s a lot of good people that want to help others in need or or put a hand out,” Jost said.
The event’s flyer invites event participants to post about their experience paying it forward.
You can find more information on the event’s Facebook page. The siblings they want to make the event an annual tradition and are excited to see how it grows and evolves.
“[Kent’s] legacy will forever be one of kindness, love, and generosity, mixed with just the right amount of humor,” Kent’s obituary reads.
