Obituaries

The funeral for Kirkland “Kirk” Bentley, 84, of Athens will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 5, 2010, at Limestone Chapel Funeral Home with Eddie Littrell and Michael Kelly officiating.  Burial will be at Limestone Memorial Gardens.

Visitation is from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Thursday, February 4, 2010, at Limestone Chapel.

Mr. Bentley died Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at Huntsville Hospital after suffering a heart attack early the previous day.

Kirk was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy on board the ship LCI 464.  He participated in six invasions in the Pacific Theater.  Of the 70 crew mates on board, none sustained injury during these invasions.  He participated in the October 2009 Honor Flight to Washington D.C. honoring WWII veterans.

After the war, Kirk worked with Rural Electrification Administration helping to bring electrical service to remote areas.  As a lineman supporting TVA, he helped install the power lines serving us today.  NASA’s large rocket engine test stands and TVA’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant benefited from Kirk’s electrician skills.  He was a 62 year member of IBEW Local Union Number 558 in Sheffield.

Mr. Bentley was preceded in death by his father, Arcue Bentley; his mother, Mary Pearl Wooten Bentley; and his brother, R.Q. “Buck” Bentley; and two sisters, Martha Jean Bentley and Gail Bentley Shores.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Dorothy Marie Gordon Bentley; three children:

Michael “Butch” Bentley and wife, Linda; Charles “Alan” Bentley; Kay Bentley Kelly and husband, Michael; and one granddaughter:  Jordan Bentley Kelly.  All of Athens, Alabama.

Pallbearers:  Mike Blakely, Billy Hargrove, Clayton Nave, Gerald Gamble, Malcolm Gordon and Bobby Stanford.

Memorials can be made to Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives in Athens or to the Tennessee Valley Honor Flight.