Betty Eleanor Bentley

Betty Eleanor Bentley, age 92, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 surrounded by her loving family. She was preceded in death by her husband, James E. Bentley, Sr. in 2014, her daughter, Barbara Diane Bentley, in 1972, and grandson, James III in 2016.

She was the youngest of five children, born to John Henry Hilmer, Jr. and Martha Rosella (Montgomery) Hilmer on December 3rd, 1932 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. After her mother passed away in 1942, she and her father moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Her father passed away unexpectedly in 1945. She attended John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham, Alabama. She met her husband while attending John Carroll and the two decided to marry on June 8th, 1949.

Betty was the mother of seven children, and once all her children were in school, she went back to school and earned her Registered Nurses degree. She then spent many years as a nurse at St Joseph's hospital and Decatur hospital as an operating room nurse. She often spoke about her amazement at God's miracle of the human body. She was loving, compassionate, generous, and very dedicated to her catholic faith. She and her husband sacrificed to make sure all of her children received a catholic education, all of them graduating from Saint Pius X Catholic High School. She was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary catholic church community for 60 years. She is survived by six children, Deborah, Marlyn, James II, Phillip, Patrick, and Jack. Of the seven children, she has 16 grandchildren and so far, 18 great grandchildren.

A visitation for Betty will be held on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at H.M. Patterson & Son – Oglethorpe Hill, located at 4550 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30319. Immediately following, a rosary service will take place at the same location from 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM. A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 2855 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. The committal service will follow at Arlington Memorial Park, 201 Mount Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, GA 30328.