God Bless Carl Bentson

There is a hole in the  heart of West 7th Street now. Carl Bentson, 62, has died. He was a friend of many of us and we were lucky to have known his kind and gentle soul. I will miss his greeting wave from his street side table while having morning coffee when I passed by while driving down St. Clair Ave.

He knew my car. For sure more than I, as he was a savant of automobiles often citing model year, engine specs and many car details from memory. I was one of the lucky ones he adopted. I was adopted before I knew I was. And so, when I knew, with proper payment, Carl mowed my lawn in the summer and blew off the sidewalk snow in winter. He became my friend. Always there, but no more. Only our memories now.

In his last year, Carl slowed down a bit to rest and talk sometimes. That was not often as he had neighbors to take care of and he showed up to do that. To the end he was Mr. Positive, flagging me down one day this fall to show off his last rose of the season and delight that Dr. Rumsey had taken him shopping and he was stocked up on batteries and reflectors for his bike.

God Bless Carl Bentson

~ Kent Petterson, West End Resident and Business Owner