William (Bill) Allen Bentzin

William (Bill) Bentzin, the son of Frank and Winifred (Hilbelink) Bentzin was born July 17, 1934 in Watertown, Wisconsin. He had two brothers, Lowell and Frank, and one sister, Mardell. The family later moved to Austin, Minnesota. Bill graduated from Austin High School in 1952 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1956. After graduation, Bill became a reporter for the Globe Gazette newspaper in Mason City, Iowa covering news and sports stories and serving as a TV critic. On July 6, 1958, he married Iva Christie in Wallingford, Iowa. A short time later, he took a job as a sports reporter for the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minnesota. The couple had one child, Kimberly. After Kim’s birth, the couple moved to the Twin Cities where Bill got a job in employee communications with a publishing house. By 1960, Bill was working in public relations for 3M Company in St. Paul. Bill also served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was called to duty during The Berlin Crisis of 1961. He was sent to Washington, D.C. to work in the Pentagon under Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. When the Berlin Crisis was over, Bill returned to 3M. In 1965, he was sent to New York to open a public relations office for the company. Bill left 3M in 1971 to develop his own marketing communications business, Bentzin Communications which later became The Best Group. During this period, he formed an organization called The Committee for Rejection of Obnoxious Commercials (CROC) and became editor of the Twin Cities Free Press which is no longer published. Over the next 20 years, Bill would also serve in executive management roles at AdHouse, a premium specialty company, the Mid-American Solar Energy Center (MASEC) and Control Data, all based in the Twin Cities. In his spare time, Bill enjoyed creative writing, sports, theater and traveling. He also enjoyed music, the guitar in particular, and formed his own band while in college. For many years, he served on the board of directors for the Minnesota chapter of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, Inc. Bill died on Friday, July 24, 2015 in Stillwater, Minnesota. He leaves to cherish his memory, his daughter, Kim and husband, Jim O’Connell of Lake Elmo, MN; and many nieces and nephews and other family members and friends. Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Iva, his parents, his brothers and sister, nephew Denny Bentzin and sisters-in-law Irene Bentzin and Minnie Bentzin and brother-in-law David Murrow, Sr.

Service Information

Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery
7601 34th Ave S
Minneapolis MN 55450

Visitation

Thursday, July 30 2015
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Simonet Funeral Home
6429 Osgood Ave.N.
Stillwater MN 55082