David G. Bentley Remembered by His Legacy in Education

David George Bentley had a lifetime love and commitment to education and to the College of Lake County Foundation and will be remembered for generations. When Dave passed away last year, his estate left a significant gift, $180,000, to the CLC Foundation, which will create the “David G. Bentley Endowed Education Scholarship” for CLC students.

Dave grew up in Prospect Heights, Illinois, and attended Wheeling High School, where he played football and wrestled. But mostly, he was interested in music and played saxophone in the marching band. He even went on to play in a marching bank while in the Navy. Dave attended Harper Junior College until enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He served four years in the Navy, earning an honorable discharge. His Navy experience led to his employment at FedEx as a communications technician, which served him well. He was at FedEx for 21 years.

Once retired, he wanted to finish school, so he enrolled in North Park College to obtain his Bachelor of Arts degree. Dave wanted to teach, so he furthered his education at Northeastern Illinois University, earning a master’s degree in special education in 2007. He worked at Waukegan High School as a teacher and relished his job.

Dave was also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lake Bluff & Lake Forest, an animal lover who took in countless stray dogs and cats, as well as the writer, director, and star in his own cable TV show, “One Man's Journey to Better Health.”

CLC deeply appreciates Dave’s generosity, because, simply put, scholarships work. Scholarship recipients are twice as likely to graduate than their nonscholarship peers and with little or no debt. Dave’s gift brings his love of education full circle, supporting today’s students to become tomorrow’s teachers.