Sophia Bentley Obituary, Death – On January 3, 2023, at the age of 92, Eugene A. Bentley, Jr., M.D., FCAP of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania died away with his daughter by his side. On May 14, 1930, he was brought into the world by his father, Eugene A. Bentley, Sr., and his mother, Helen. Delaware County was the place where Gene, or Gene as he was more widely called, spent his childhood. After receiving his diploma from Haverford High School in June 1948, he entered in the Pennsylvania National Guard and was assigned to the 235th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. He served in the military for the next three years.
His enrollment at Swarthmore College was cut short when, in the summer of 1950, shortly after the commencement of the Korean War, he received a call to active duty in the United States Army. After completing his education at Fort Sill in the field of ballistic meteorology, he was shipped off to an overseas assignment with the 97th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, which was stationed at an Air Force facility close to Tokyo, Japan. He was honorably discharged from the service in May of 1952 after having served as an Assistant Operations Sergeant and an Assistant Master Gunner.
Gene went back to Swarthmore College after being discharged from the military service. It was during his final year at Swarthmore that he met Janet Senft, the woman who would become the love of his life. He was in charge of finding new members for the band, and throughout the summer he had written letters to all of the students who would be entering the university as freshmen. He stated it was love at first sight when he saw her holding her oboe case for the first time during rehearsal, and he remembered seeing her there for the first time. In June of 1954, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and then went on to study medicine at Hahnemann University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
He got married to Janet two days after he graduated from medical school, and the ceremony was beautiful. After completing his internships at the West Jersey Hospital in Camden, he went on to complete his residency and then his fellowship in pathology at the Bryn Mawr Hospital, where he also received his board certification in anatomic and clinical pathology. Gene’s first job was as the Chief of the Blood Bank at Philadelphia General Hospital, where he was also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at Hahnemann Medical College. Gene’s professional career started at this hospital. Gene started working at Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pennsylvania in June of 1968, when he accepted a position in the hospital’s Pathology Department.
He remained there until he retired in 2001. In 1972, the first year that examinations for this specialized certification were made available, he was successful in passing those exams and earning his renowned career. Throughout his career, he was very engaged in the Pennsylvania Association of Blood Banks, where he eventually became President of the organization after holding the positions of Secretary, Vice President, and President before that. In addition to that, he worked as an inspector for the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and held the position of Chairman of Inspection and Accreditation for the AABB in the state of Pennsylvania.
In addition to being a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, he was an active member of the American Medical Association, the Greater Philadelphia Hospital Blood Bank Association, the American Association for Microbiology, the Eastern Pennsylvania Association for Microbiology, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, and the Association for the Advancement of Science. He also served as a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists.
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