Nancy M. Bentley
Nancy McNamara Bentley passed away peacefully on November 23, 2021. She was born in New Haven on August 12, 1931, to Francis McNamara and Virginia Davis McNamara. She was the fourth of five children. Her early years were spent in Hamden, CT. After graduating from Hamden High, she attended Smith College and graduated with a degree in economics in 1953. Upon graduation, she went to work as a securities analyst for the First Boston Corporation in New York City.
At First Boston, Nancy was the first female officer in the underwriting department, working on the public offerings of Ford Motor Company, Campbell’s Soup Company and Xerox Corporation. While at the bank, she met another First Boston employee, George A. Bentley III.
Nancy and George were married on September 15, 1962, at Yale University’s St. Thomas More Chapel. They had three children: Lissa Frances Bentley, George Albert Bentley IV, and Darcy Virginia Bentley. The family lived in Ridgefield, CT, and spent summers at Lake Waramaug in New Preston, CT. George III predeceased Nancy in 1991.
In addition to raising her family, in 1981 she earned an MBA with a finance concentration from the University of Bridgeport. She worked at the New Milford Bank and Trust as a commercial lender, and then as a credit counselor with Consumer Credit Counseling. She also found time to become a silver life master in bridge, to play golf, to read voraciously, and to volunteer in the community - not to mention completing the NYT crossword puzzle every Sunday and enthusiastically supporting the UConn Huskies Women’s Basketball team.
She is survived by her loving children, Lissa, George and Darcy, by their spouses, Matt Levy, Amy Kassak Bentley, and Daniel Frisch, and by her adored grandchildren James Bentley, Greer Levy, and Nelle and Buddy Frisch.
The family will have a private burial service, and will receive visitors on Sunday December 12th at 160 Kent Hollow Road, Kent CT, from 12:30pm-3:00pm. A celebration of Nancy’s life will be planned for summer 2022. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Kent Memorial Library or Smith College.
Arrangements by the Lillis Funeral Home, 58 Bridge Street, New Milford, CT.