Bentley, Martha Marie Hoppenworth (1921-2020)

BENTLEY, HOPPENWORTH, BRASE, CLAUDE, HAYES, STEPP, STOVER, HENNING, WESTENDORF, SPARKS

Posted By: Debbie Greenfield (email)
Date: 5/23/2021 at 19:34:22

Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, Iowa
January 22, 2020

Martha Bentley, 98, of Webster City, died Monday, January 20, 2020 at Van Diest Medical Center. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 25, 2020 at Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Gina Sterk officiating. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 24th at Foster Funeral and Cremation Center.

Martha Marie Hoppenworth was born on February 14, 1921 to Carl and Wilhemine Brase Hoppenworth at her family farm home in Bremer County. She was the seventh child of nine children. She was baptized, confirmed and married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in western Douglas Township in Plainfield. She married Gerald Lester Bentley on October 14, 1940. They lived in Waterloo before moving to Blairsburg to farm. She worked side by side with her husband farming and doing chores. They retired from farming and moved to Webster City in 1979.

She enjoyed gardening, flowers, crocheting afghans, embroidering pillowcases and dishtowels, many other crafts but most of all sewing. She sewed for her family and for her church. At age 90, she began to make log cabin quilts, other quilts and quilt tops for her family, friends and church.

Martha was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Ruth Circle, Webster City Women’s Club, Hospital Auxiliary, Blairsburg neighborhood club, “CC Club”, craft club and several card clubs.

She is survived by her three children, Beverly Claude Hayes of Webster City; Gerald and Jan Bentley of Blairsburg; Mary and Tom Stepp of Parkville, MO; 11 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Maxine Bentley Stover and many nieces and nephews.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Gerald; sons-in-law, Richard Claude and Steve Hayes; brothers, Ted, Walter, Art, Edgar, Arnold Hoppenworth and sisters, Renata Henning, Edna Westendorf and Mable Sparks.