Theodore Robert (Teddy) Stent, M.D. died peacefully on April 29 surrounded by his cherished wife Jean and his loving family. He was 94.

Teddy was born Jan. 7, 1924 in Charleston, S.C., where he grew up the loving son of Amelia Boags Stent and Theodore Camille Stent. At 16, he graduated from Avery Normal Institute, Charleston’s first accredited secondary school for blacks, and in 1944 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Talladega College.

As an altar boy and choir member at Charleston’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, he developed his lifelong love for music. He was also an accomplished musician, and played the piano and trumpet. His musical passion continued at Talladega College where he found his musical mentor, Professor Frank Harrison, who became his lifelong friend and godfather to his eldest daughter. He also studied and loved the sciences. Teddy went on to Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., where he received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1948. He served as president of his class for four years and was an honors graduate. In medical school he continued his dual loves of medicine and music as a tenor soloist with the Fisk University Jubilee Singers choir. He organized the Meharry singers and was the co-author of the Meharry Alma Mater.

He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1951 to 1953 and was discharged with honors. He moved to New York city where several of his cousins lived, and did his internship and residency at Sydenham Hospital. He became a staff radiologist at Bellevue Hospital, held appointments as associate radiologist at Sydenham and adjunct at the Hospital for Joint Diseases. His first marriage in 1953 was to Madelon M. Delany and produced three children, Michelle, Nicole and Evan.

Teddy and Madelon, who had been coming to the Vineyard since she was a child, purchased a home on Tuckernuck avenue in 1953. Five generations of their family have called, and continue to call, Martha’s Vineyard their home.

Teddy was certified by the NYS Education Department in 1953 and appointed director of radiology at Harlem Hospital. He maintained a private practice at Lenox Terrace. He served on the faculty of Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons as associate clinical director for 30 years, retiring in 1991. He was a Diplomate of the American Board of Radiology and as a member of the National Medical Association. His medical affiliations included the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of NY Medical College, the Radiological Society of NYC, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, Kappa Pi Honorary Medical Society, and the American College of Nuclear Medicine.

In 1973 Dr. Stent became certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, a conjoint of the American Boards of Internal Medicine, Pathology and Radiology in the then new field of nuclear medicine. He became one of the first nuclear medicine specialists in the country and was invited to the First World Conference on Nuclear Medicine held in Japan.

He worked tirelessly with the community and its elected leadership to design and build Harlem Hospital as an institution of medical excellence for the Harlem community he loved. He was an early innovator for community medicine as one of the founders of the Paul Robeson Health Organization. Physicians affiliated were concerned with quality care in an underserved community, and provided medical services that were comprehensive in scope and optimum in quality at reasonable costs with minimal risk to patients. Dr. Stent continued to work with local health clinics including the Adelaide Clinic in Antigua, West Indies and other community based organizations well past his retirement.

He was a co-founder of Intra-American Life Insurance and served as its vice president and medical director. He was an early investor in what became Inner-City Broadcasting started by his friend Percy Sutton. He also was active in state and local politics beginning with the first campaign for Cong. Charles Rangel, “Doctors for Rangel.”

Teddy’s dual interests and superior talents blended well. While he was highly distinguished in medicine, his musical achievements were no less outstanding. As a soloist and choral director, he conducted many choirs and held long tenure as minister of music of the Westminster Choir at Church of the Master in Harlem. This famed choir premiered several works and appeared with Odetta at Carnegie Hall and on CBSTV with Alfredo Antonini and the CBS Symphony. He also provided musical accompaniment for Langston Hughes’ recitation of his poetry. He was noted for his arrangements, renditions, and interpretations of Negro spirituals and founded The Voices, Inc, a Negro spiritual professional performance group that toured across the country. He also worked on arrangements with the legendary composer and arranger Hall Johnson. He served as board president of the Symphony of the New World that performed regularly at Lincoln Center and was composed of minority and diverse musicians and was a first in bringing orchestral composition to communities which had no exposure to classical music. From September 1994 to September 2009 he was soloist and choir master at Riverdale Presbyterian Church and also sang with The Oratorio Society of New York in addition to serving on their board of directors.

His service on other boards included Harlem Neighborhood Association, Inc., NY Urban League, NAACP, YMCA, and the Greater Harlem Nursing Home, Inc.

On Jan. 21, 1995 he married Jean Santoiemma at Riverdale Presbyterian Church. He was a true Renaissance Man. In an era when it was challenging for blacks to attain an education, he was steadfast in his determination to be a physician and then rose to the top of his profession while guiding others to do the same. He loved the outdoors, fishing, gardening, carpentry, boats, astronomy, sciences and would read a book a night. He held dear his childhood home, Charleston and his parents and many relatives there. He cherished his family, friends, colleagues and community. He loved his church choir, his wife Jean and their home in Connecticut, where he enjoyed star gazing out on the deck.

On the Vineyard he loved fishing, crabbing and just relaxing. He said Oak Bluffs reminded him of his childhood and visiting Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, where his father grew up. He was a proud member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi - Zeta Boule, Reveille Club and his beloved Brooklyn Guardsmen.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Jean Santoiemma Stent, his beloved children, Michelle D. Stent, JD, MPA; Nicole M. Stent, Esq.; and Evan T. Stent; stepson John N. Santoiemma; grandchildren Imani Simone Stent Graham and Mark Anthony Stent Graham; his loving sister Doris Stent Hall; and nephew Harry K. Hall, Esq. He also leaves cherished cousins and a host of friends in Charleston, New York, Antigua and Connecticut.

A memorial service was held June 9 at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in the Bronx, N.Y.

Memorial donations may be made to Talladega College, talladega.edu or The Office of Institutional Advancement, Talladega College, 627 Battle Street West, Talladega, AL 35160, In memory of Dr. Theodore R. Stent; or to Riverdale Presbyterian Church, 4765 Henry Hudson Parkway West, Bronx, N.Y., 10471.