Montserrat College Board President Killed In Biking Accident

SOUTH HAMILTON, MA — The president of the Montserrat College of Art Board of Trustees died Sunday after a biking accident in Texas, numerous outlets report. His fiancée, also of South Hamilton, was also struck, and was taken to the hospital in serious condition. She is currently recovering.

Kent Joshua Wosepka was struck Saturday in Liberty County, Texas, as part of a cycling trip from California to Florida. On Saturday at 11:06 a.m., the driver of a Ford Escape was speeding and hit three cyclists, according to a preliminary crash investigation reported by KFDM6 News.

Wosepka was airlifted to a nearby hospital, and died Sunday at about 1:20 p.m., according to KFDM6. Local Justice of the Peace Ben Collins Sr. has ordered an autopsy.

The other two cyclists, 59-year-old Barbara Anne Ferrell of Santa Rosa, Calif. and 54-year-old Elizabeth Anne O'Brien of South Hamilton, Mass., were airlifted to nearby hospitals in serious condition. One of Wosepka's close friends told Patch that O'Brien, known as Betsy, was Wosepka's fiancée and the "love of his life."

All three were traveling as part of a six-cyclist caravan on an annual ride from San Diego to St. Augustine. The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety continue to investigate the accident.

Wosepka was a father of three and a retired finance partner at Goldman Sachs and adjunct professor of finance at Boston College’s Wallace E. Carroll Graduate School of Management, according to his LinkedIn account. He was also an amateur painter active in the local nonprofit world. He was chair of the Board of Trustees at Montserrat College of Art, treasurer and director of the Essex County Greenbelt Association until the past summer, and treasurer and director of the Good Listening Project, a nonprofit cultivating “resilience and wellbeing in healthcare communities.”

"We are heartbroken by the loss of our board chair and dear friend, Kent Wosepka," Montserrat College President Dr. Kurt Steinberg emailed Patch in a statement. "Kent joined the board in 2017 and was a very active member from the beginning, becoming board chair in 2020. Kent actively served on several committees for the college including chairing the investment committee, on which he helped to grow the college's endowment and set the college up for future success. Kent endorsed and championed the improvements Montserrat has been making in our facilities and he was a very active member of the Strategic Plan Committee, which resulted in a guiding path for the college's future.

"Kent was originally drawn to Montserrat because of the college's reputation and he held the Montserrat community in high regard. He loved serving as a trustee and was a constant presence at every important meeting and function. He will be deeply missed and very warmly remembered."

"All of us at Greenbelt are deeply saddened by the loss of Kent Wosepka, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones," a spokesperson for the Essex County Greenbelt Association told Patch. "Out of respect for Kent's family, we have no additional comments at this time."

Wosepka’s personal website says that he is an artist and father “almost always smudged with paint, bicycle grease or dirt.”

"Kent was famous for his kindness, his love of life, and for the sparkle in his eyes," his friend told Patch.

Related:

Driver Who Hit And Killed Montserrat Board Prez Walks Free