Duane Bentley

He was born on November 2, 1933 in Boone, Iowa. His family moved to Oregon during his childhood.

When he turned 18, he joined the US Marine Corps and did his training at El Toro, California. He became an aircraft engine mechanic working on the Pratt & Whitney WASP R-4360, 28-cylinder aircraft engine which was used on the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. From 1953-54 he was stationed in Japan during the Korean War.

After his years of service, Duane and his wife Tommie Ruth settled in Amarillo, Texas where their sons, Marlowe and Danny were born. Duane worked for Nubro, a ball bearing remanufacturing company, and when Nubro moved to Lubbock, so did the family.

In 1972, Duane was married to Nora Glasson McNeece. He worked for Nubro for 33 years where he worked his way up to be the Plant Manager. Always staying active, he worked various jobs, until he joined the team at United Supermarkets on 50th Street and worked there for 18 years until retiring in 2014 at 80 years old.

Duane has always had a love for playing golf and felt like it was what kept him sane during the hard times. He played at the Meadowbrook Course for the last few years, practicing his drives and putts with some fun friends. He had many stories of his 4 "holes in one" and his years of shooting at or below his age!

Duane was honored to be an active member of South Plains Church of Christ. He was always excited to share stories of the lessons learned and the people. That church family was a great blessing during his years there.

Duane was preceded in death by his parents, Austin and Lucy Bentley, brothers Ed and Marlowe Bentley and sister Yvonne Bentley; his son Danny Bentley; wife Nora Bentley, and step-daughter Laura Boling.

Duane is survived by his son Marlowe and wife Glenda Bentley of Richmond, Texas and his grandchildren Kelsey Williams and husband William, and Caleb Bentley in the Houston Texas area; Step-son Mark and wife Susan McNeece of Glendale, Arizona and grandchildren Emily McNeece and Jared McNeece of Glendale, Arizona; grandson Dylan Boling and wife Tova of Levelland, Texas and great grandson Cooper Boling of Levelland, Texas. Duane is also survived by his sisters Dolores Osborne, Lorraine Jones, and Kathy Bowman and brother Ronald Bentley of the Albany, Oregon area.

Our family is grateful for the friends and professionals at the Lubbock Veterans Association Clinic, University Medical Center, Vitality Living Shadow Hills Assisted Living facility, and Hospice of The South Plains who cared for him in his final years.

“Put a smile on my face and a Bible in my hand for I am heading to the Promised land!”

1 Corinthians 7:17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. (NIV)

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the South Plains Church of Christ Share Fund for missions (6802 Elkhart Ave, Lubbock, TX 79424).