Danny Wavell Bentley Sr.

ST. PARIS – Danny Wavell Bentley Sr., 84 of St. Paris, Ohio, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in his home.

Danny was born on June 17, 1941 in Cannel City, Kentucky, to the late Elbert George and Malcolm Kizzie (Watkins) Bentley.

Danny spent the past 66 years making Christiansburg his home with the love of his life, Violet June (Rutt) Bentley, whom he married on Jan. 22, 1960. He was attending Fairborn High School when he voluntarily left before graduating and signed up at the young age of 17 to proudly serve his country in the United States Army during the Korean War. While in the Army, he earned his GED. Never one to give up and stop fighting for what was right, Danny continued to write letters to the Fairborn Board of Education until he was presented his high school diploma on May 27, 2011 at the age of 69. His wife, daughters, son and sons-in-law were all able to attend this highly-honored moment where he received a standing ovation from everyone in the room. He never stopped proudly proclaiming to everyone that he was the oldest graduate of Fairborn High School.

Throughout his life, Danny dedicated himself to service and hard work. He was a past master of Mt. Olivet Lodge No. 226 F. & A.M. in Christiansburg, Ohio, a member of the Scottish Rite, Valley of Dayton, a member of Antioch Shrine in Dayton, Ohio, and a proud member of the Champaign County Shrine Club.

After being honorably discharged from the Army, Danny's career included many roles serving the public. He served as police chief in Christiansburg during the 1960s. Then Danny earned his CDL and dedicated 23 years to driving for Greyhound Lines, Inc. before retiring. During his career with Greyhound, he logged over two million miles with zero accidents. Never being a lazy man and not knowing how to sit idle after retiring, he continued working many jobs for the next 31 years, mainly always involving driving of course. He drove a shuttle bus for Wright State University, worked as a Corrections Officer at the Tri-County Jail, drove a bus for SCAT (Springfield City Area Transit), drove for the Ohio Masonic Home, and made long distance deliveries, even out of state, for Perkins Trucking Services even in his 80s before his decline in health forced him to stop driving commercially in 2023.

Danny had a true love for the open road, especially on a motorcycle. He enjoyed riding whenever he could, along with fishing, and especially gardening. He had a green thumb, not necessarily for flowers, but for vegetables, specifically his green onions and cucumbers. He had a fondness for antique toys.

Most important to Danny, he treasured time spent with his family. Holidays, birthdays, and cookouts that had to include a competitive game of cornhole or Jarts (the original 60s ones) were always part of the family fun. Golf outings, Saturday nights at Shady Bowl Speedway, and watching races on TV were among his favorite pastimes.

Danny truly loved all 3 of his children, and his 2 sons-in-law, but he absolutely adored the other three women he met in the years to come in 1988, 1997 and 1998 who also became the loves of his life, his granddaughters - Cassie, Caitlyn and Shelby. He was always checking in on them or asking about them, and he always worried about them, even after they were grown and on their own. He would give grandfatherly advice such as making sure they didn't have too many keys on their key rings because that would ruin their steering columns or friendly reminders to not let their gas tanks get below a quarter of a tank. He loved listening to their stories or telling them a hundred times or more about how he met and won over their Grandma (one of his all-time favorite stories to tell). He would tease them and then break into that ornery laugh.

When visiting, he could be found tinkering under the hood of their cars in order to confirm that some form of preventative maintenance wasn't required. It was one of his many ways of ALWAYS letting them know how much Grandpa aka Papaw loved them.

Danny was known for his friendly nature and gift of conversation. He never met a stranger and enjoyed socializing, sharing stories, jokes, and making connections. The one thing Danny was absolutely most well-known for was his pipe smoking. Danny and his pipe were synonymous. He almost always had it on him and if not, it wasn't far out of his reach. It was a 70-year habit that was never going to be broken.

Danny is survived by his devoted loving wife, Violet June Bentley; daughters, Theresa (John) Gilson, Danell (Eric) Holmes; son, Danny W. (Meghan Rempe) Bentley Jr.; grandchildren, Cassie (Dave) Bentley-Bradshaw, Caitlyn (Chris Lingane) Holmes, Shelby Holmes and Greyson Rempe; brothers, Mike Bentley, Donald (Susan) Bentley; and sister, Barbara Simmons.

Danny is preceded in death by his parents; infant brother, William Bentley; sisters, Alice Frank, and Joy Humphries.

A gathering of family and friends will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 in VERNON FUNERAL HOME, Urbana, Ohio. Following the visitation, Masonic Services will be performed by Mt. Olivet #226 F. & A.M. and the Valley of Dayton, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite at 6:00 PM.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026 in Vernon Funeral Home with Dr. R. Dean Wells officiating.

Burial will follow at Bryon Cemetery, Fairborn, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Danny's honor to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, N.Y. 10306 or to Shriners Children Ohio, 1 Children's Plaza 2 West, Dayton, Ohio 45404.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.vernonfh.com.