David Otto Brents
September 16, 1944 - May 29, 2016
David Otto Brents, age 71 of Jasper, passed away Sunday May 29, 2016 at his residence from complications due to cancer.
Mr. Brents was born on September 16, 1944 in Mobile, Alabama to Mary Kate and William C. Brents. He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. After high school he joined the United States Marine Corps where he fought during the Vietnam War. During his time in the Marine Corps he met and married Joyce Marie Shaffer in 1968. He later joined the Dekalb County Police Department where, over the course of 25 years (1973 to 1998), he made his way to become Deputy Director of Public Safety over Communications.
During his tenure with Dekalb County he designed and implemented world leading 9-1-1 systems. This led him to be invited by several U.S. States and the countries of Great Britain and China to come and speak with their police forces about 9-1-1 Communications Systems and also to be awarded a plaque in the Smithsonian for "Excellence in 9-1-1 Communications Systems".
Upon retiring from the police force he joined the Gwinnett County School System where he worked at Lilburn Elementary School as their Technical Support Technician for 12 years (1998 to 2010). He studied Electrical Engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University and later went on to teach math and electronics evening classes there. He was licensed in 1991 by the FCC as a Commercial Radio Operator for repairing radios and televisions, which he did throughout his lifetime, as well as collecting vintage tube type radios. He was an avid admirer and collector of classic American cars and a lover of film noir movies of which he held an extensive collection. He cherished animals as companions and kept quite a few during his lifetime.
He is survived by his wife: Joyce Brents of Jasper; son and daughter-in-law: Tim & Jennifer Brents of Jasper; two grandchildren, 10 brothers and 4 sisters.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 3, 2016 from 7pm until 9pm. The memorial service will be held at 11:00am Saturday June 4, 2016 from the chapel of Cagle Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, donations to David's granddaughter's college fund are appreciated. Please see the family for details.
Cagle Funeral Home is honored to serve the Brents family.