Dr. John D. Bentley dies at 88

Physician and humanitarian Dr. John D. Bentley has died. He was 88.

He died March 10. His obituary at GormanScharpf.com does not list a cause.

A founding doctor of federally qualified health center Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Bentley in 2014 won Springfield Business Journal's Lifetime Achievement in Business award.

Alongside his work in a private internal medicine practice and on the staff of a hospital system, Bentley was a 20-year volunteer for The Kitchen Clinic. He helped administer health care to uninsured people, most staying at the Missouri Hotel, according to past reporting.

Bentley in 2015 was selected as the annual Springfieldian by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

After earning his medical degree in 1964 from the University of Pennsylvania and finishing training in internal medicine in 1968 at the University of Wisconsin, he practiced medicine at what is now Mercy Hospital Springfield for 35 years, according to past reporting.

He is survived by his wife, former Greene County Commissioner and Missouri state Sen. Roseann Bentley, four children, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, according to his obituary.

“There aren’t many people like him," his obituary reads. "People were lucky if they got to know him, have him as their doctor, count him as their friend or love him as their family member.”