Springfield physician, humanitarian Dr. John Bentley has passed away

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Prominent Springfield physician and humanitarian Dr. John Bentley has passed away. He was 88 years old.

According to a news release from the City of Springfield, Dr. Bentley had a private practice as a cardiologist/internist for 35 years. In the 1980s, Dr. Bentley volunteered as the founding medical director at The Kitchen, serving the homeless and poor alongside Sister Lorraine Biebel.

“Dr. Bentley offered a lifetime of service to others and changed the Springfield community for the better,” said Springfield Mayor Ken McClure. “He saved many lives, and for others who knew him – he made their lives better.”

In 2003, Dr. Bentley helped establish and fund the Jordan Valley Community Health Center. He served as medical director and family practitioner at Jordan Valley for two decades.

“John Bentley’s legacy will live on in this community forever,” McClure added. “Springfield is a better place because of Dr. Bentley.”

According to an online obituary for Dr. Bentley, he was honored with several awards for his service to the Springfield community, including the 1999 Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Salute to Healthcare Award, the 2000 Council of Churches’ Gift of Time Volunteer of the Year Award, the 2002 Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Humanitarian of the Year Award, the 2003 Missouri State Medical Association’s Citizenship and Community Service Award, the 2010 Missourian Award, and the 2015 Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s Springfieldian Award- an award his wife Roseann previously had won in 2003.

Jordan Valley Community Health Center’s executive vice president, Matthew Stinson, said Dr. Bentley will be missed.

“He was the shoulders that we sit upon as we look to think about how do we do health care in Springfield now,” said Stinson.

“Dr. Bentley was a giant in our community,” said Mayor McClure.

Mayor McClure said the man was a pillar in the community

“We have been experiencing the benefits of what Dr. Bentley has given our community, and we would not be where we are today without him,” said Mayor McClure.

Stinson said Dr. Bentley always wanted others to succeed.

“He was always trying to take care of those who didn’t have a voice to speak for themselves,” said Stinson.

Mayor McClure said he had known Dr. Bentley for more than 20 years.

“All you need to do is look at the number of awards that he had over the years, Springfieldian of the year, Humanitarian of the year, health care provider of the year,” said Mayor McClure. “That just doesn’t happen without somebody giving to their community.”

Stinson says Dr. Bentley shaped Springfield’s healthcare.

He said without him, Springfield wouldn’t be the same.

“How do we celebrate Dr. Bentley? I think that’s an important legacy to remember, maybe it is just as simple as trying to break down the barriers that our patients face, and so we should have that same attitude,” said Stinson.

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