FRANZ M. BENTELER

I remember he performed at an IBM event we held at the Art Institute back in the late 70´s! It was a wonderful experience! There was no one like him and he is still missed.

Please know that Franz may be gone, but not forgotten. Just today I was telling of how kind he was to me as a young man dining with my father at the Empire Room, when I asked him to play "that Hungarian song" I remembered from the last time we visited. He did. And it was awesome. God bless him.

Dear Maria and Family, oh goodness!, Eleven years? Well, now Charlie is with him, enjoying the music, while the angels sway with the waltzes.

Dear Maria and Family,
We must be the last people to hear the very sad news of Franz's passing. Charlie is devastated. I had just written his name on our Christmas envelope when I decided to check online. Even though Charlie went to Lane Tech, he was a year behind Franz in school and apparently met him in 1947 at Germania Club. Charlie drove Franz around a lot in those days, because Franz did not have a car. The reason was: Franz had no money because he had bought his Stradivarius....

Dear Benteler family: I would like to offer my sympathy on the death of Franz.
He was a very smart and Kind person .
My favorite memories of him are these ; I am 52 now ;i was very shy when I was 16.
I use to go visit him once a month -when he played the consort room . I did that from 16-21 years old . Anyway ,he always took the time to sit with me for 5 minutes on his break .
Words cannot express how much that meant to me . I will never forget him for it . He and all of...

May I offer my sincere condolences tothe family on the death of Franz. He played with my father, Otto Muncke, at the Old Heidelberg and later at the Swiss Chalet, I believe. My father, who passed in 1963, was a great admirer and so was the rest of our family and I have fond childhood memories of hearing Franz play with my father.
Christopher Muncke (Bovingdon,England - [email protected])

Franz played at all of my sisters weddings and I saw him at many events and he recognized me immediately. He was such a talented and kind man and will be sorely missed. Thank you for all the wonderful years of music you shared with us. You will remain in our thoughts and prayers but your music will remain in our hearts.