MENDOTA - William Glenn Bentley, 89, of Mendota, died peacefully on May 29, 2019 at the Illinois Veteran’s Home, LaSalle.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 22 at the Mendota Bible Church with Rev. Brian Kelly officiating. Burial will be at Van Orin Repose Cemetery with military rites by Mendota VFW Post 4079. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until time of services on June 22 at the church. Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota is assisting the family.

Bill was born June 30, 1929 in Sterling to Milford and Opal (McGill) Bentley. He married Florence Marie Haas. She preceded him in death in 1991. He then married Carol Rapp in 1992.

Survivors include his wife, Carol; one sister, Della Bentley Wade Robertson; one son, Roger (Patti) Bentley; two daughters, Janean (Jack) Quigley and Patti (Joel) Spanier; one stepson, Steve Rapp; one stepdaughter, Brenda (Bryan) Ridgley; 15 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Florence; one son, Michael (Mick) Bentley; and one grandson, Sean Quigley.

Bill graduated from LaMoille High School in 1948. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1952, and served in the Korean conflict. He returned home and married Florence Haas. They were married for 37 years until her death in 1991. Throughout the years, he worked as a farmer and was a salesmen/serviceman in farming equipment. He retired from many years at Sundstrand in LaSalle in 1990, but was truly a farmer at heart in all his ways. He and Florence were one of the five original couples who founded the Mendota Bible Church. In 1992, he married Carol Rapp and they enjoyed wintering in Arizona during their retirement years. Bill enjoyed flying his homebuilt airplane, cruising Route 66 and touring Alaska in his restored 1949 Willy’s Jeepster. His sense of adventure and “never say no” attitude took him to many outdoor wonderlands including a rafting trip down the Colorado River, 4-wheeling in the deserts of Central Arizona and bike riding through the aspens of Northern Arizona, all after the age of 70. He was grateful to visit the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. and took the time to go to Michigan to pay respects to the grave of a young fellow Marine who died in his arms on the front lines of the war. His last few years he was loved, honored and gently cared for by the incredible staff at the Illinois Veteran’s Home in LaSalle.

In lieu of flowers, the family will appreciate donations to the Illinois Veteran’s Home or to Mendota Bible Church.