Thea Frances Barbara Bentley

Thea Bentley (“GG”) - Passed away peacefully on September 16, 2024, at the age of 106.

It is with great sadness and much love that we mourn the passing of Thea Bentley (nee Stern) on September 16th, 2024. She passed away peacefully at the Dogwood Lodge Hospice after living a full life of 106 years. She lived a very full life, able to live in her own home until the last two days of her life.

“GG” as she was known to her friends and family alike, will be missed by her son George Bentley (Pam), who sadly passed away on April 4, 2025, her grandchildren, Thea Ewert (Victor), Anne Friche (Nik), John Bentley (Wendy), and Peter Bentley. Sadly, on April 18, 2025, Anne also passed away from breast cancer. She will also be missed by her great-grandchildren: David Ewert, Mark Ewert, Kirsten Friche, Jessica Friche, Alec Friche, Daniel Friche and William Bentley; and by all those that she has touched, over her lifetime, with her warmth, joy and care.

Thea was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 31, 1918, and had, by and large, a secure and happy childhood. Her father (Joseph Stern), whom she was very close to, was a lawyer, and her mother was Adelheid (nee Herzfeld). She had one sister, Susie, two years younger, who at 21 years of age died tragically in a Nazi concentration camp. They had many lovely summer and winter holidays in the beautiful countryside of Austria. Thea had just started University when Hitler’s Nazi’s invaded. She married Robert Bloch-Bauer in Vienna on June 3, 1937, and they had a son, George Joseph, on June 16, 1938. They then fled Austria on October 20, 1938, with a four-month-old son. Through various detours, trials and tribulations, they arrived in Vancouver in January 1939. They loved Vancouver and all the beauty at first sight, and had a full and successful life, in due course.

As a family, we would like to thank the doctors and nurses at Home Vie for the medical care they provided for Thea during the last several years of her life.

The past year has been a very challenging one for the family; in addition to losing “GG”, we have lost her son George Bentley and her granddaughter Anne Friche. As a family, we have decided to combine the Celebrations of Life for all three of these loved ones. The Celebration of Life will be held in their honour on October 11th, 2025, at 2:00 pm at Kitsilano Christian Community Church (1708 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver, BC), in the main sanctuary.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to one of the many organizations that GG supported: BC Cancer, Covenant House, Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Salvation Army, and VGH Hospital Foundation.