BENTLEY: Blaine
February 12, 1954 - August 7, 2014
Blaine passed away peacefully on August 7, 2014, at St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon, SK, with his family by his side. He was 60 years of age. Blaine was born February 12, 1954, the third child and only son of Joe and Mary Bentley. He was raised on the family farm in the Viscount area and graduated from Viscount Central High School in 1972. After graduating, he spent 2 years living and working around home before moving to Saskatoon to attend Kelsey Institute. He completed his Journeyman ticket for Motor Vehicle repair in 1976. He worked for Ted Henson Pontiac before moving to Sargent's Auto Electric where he specialized in tune-ups. Blaine was always involved in sports, pitching fastball in the summers for Saskatoon Credit Union and Northtown Motors and playing broomball with the Saskatoon Aces in the winters. It was at a broomball game that he met the love of his life, Verla Basset of the Peterson area. They married in 1978 and decided to return to farming in the spring of 1979, taking over the family farm from Blaine's parents. It was here that they raised their three children teaching them the same love for land, animals and mechanical repairs that he had. Even with the busy farm and family Blaine still found time for hunting and fishing, often with close friend Blair. Blaine was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1987. He continued to farm, making alterations to equipment and improvising as the MS progressed. In 1994 they made the difficult decision to rent out most of the land but continued to farm the home quarter and keep the herd of cattle. Blaine was still able to manage some of the farming with the help of his sons and spent many hours in the shop. It was at this time that his love for collecting old snowmobiles (mostly Arctic Cat) became his hobby. Blaine's interest in farming and snowmobiles continued, even as the MS progressed. He spent countless hours on the phone, visiting and discussing snowmobiles, happy to offer advice whenever he could. He was especially happy when friends would stop by for coffee or come for a tour of his collection. In recent years, the use of his power chair gave him the freedom to tour his collections and check the neighboring fields on his own, often with his dog Happy by his side. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 36 years, Verla (nee Basset), daughter Cara (Scott) Davidson, sons Cameron Bentley and Jesse Bentley and twin grandsons, Adrian and Jasper Davidson. He will be sadly missed by his sisters Donna (Edward) Mann, Cheryl (Jerry Lafond) Wiebe, and Bonita Bentley and his nephews and their families: Scott (Shauna), Shayna and Owen Mann; Clinton (Heather), Emily and Jordyn Mann, Garrett (Jackie) Justin, Georgia, Jayda, Jackson Mann; Tyler (Katelyn) Wiebe; his Aunt Marge Turkitch and Uncle Arthur (Jean) Jones; close friend Blair Buckingham and by a large extended family, numerous cousins, neighbors and friends. Blaine was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Mary Bentley, daughter Kimberley (in infancy) and niece Alissa Wiebe. A Public Visitation was held on Tuesday, August 12th, 2014 between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm at St. Alphonse R.C. Church in Viscount, SK. A Memorial Service was held at the Viscount Central School Gymnasium on Wednesday, August 13th at 2:00 p.m. with a lunch following. Memorial donations may be directed to either the MS Society or Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation. Arrangements are entrusted to Schuler-Lefebvre Funeral Chapel in Humboldt, SK.
