HOPE — William “Bill” Newton Bentley, 81, of Hope, Maine, died peacefully at home on May 4, 2026. He was born on May 8, 1944, in Gardner, Massachusetts, to Grace Lillian Pendleton Bentley and Warren Newton Bentley. Bill grew up in Winchendon, Massachusetts, attending Murdock High School and later Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Keene State College. 

Bill enjoyed a long career as a school teacher and was known for beginning each of his Physics classes with an inspiring reading and for empowering students to solve problems and take charge of their own education. Early in his career, he taught at Kingswood Regional High School in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and Gorham High School in Gorham, New Hampshire, where he pioneered a program called Operation Go, taking a different group of students into the wilderness, his outdoor classroom, for 10-day (and night!) trips, all year long.  

Wanting to see the world, Bill took a ten-year hiatus from teaching and worked as a deck officer in the merchant marine with Gulf Oil. He returned to Maine and settled in Hope, built a house on Mansfield Pond, and taught for a year in Bath, Maine, before beginning a 20-year career of teaching chemistry, physics, and an experiential educational program called “Journeys," which he pioneered at Camden-Rockport High School and then Camden Hills Regional High School. He leaves a legacy of positive impact on countless students whom he taught in the classroom and during wilderness trips on the cliffs, mountains, and waters of Maine and New Hampshire.

Adventure was the name of the game for Bill, and all adventures, even the “epics,”were opportunities for learning to know oneself and others better. At home in any classroom setting: hiking, rock climbing, fishing, skiing, canoeing, rafting, or camping, he welcomed every companion. Bill treasured memorable expeditions in all seasons with his sons out West and with his wife in Baxter State Park, where they both volunteered, and on higher peaks in the USA and Europe. 

A firefighter in the town of Hope, Bill then served as a paramedic for both Camden First Aid and North East Mobile Health Services and taught many a paramedic student. He was a Master Maine Guide and also trained people in fire fighting, mountain search and rescue operations, wilderness medicine, and nautical skills and navigation.

Bill pursued many other hobbies as well, taking each to new heights, including photography – first black and white developed in the darkroom at home and then large color panoramas printed in his studio. Some remember him as a master brewer, monopolizing the cellar with his state of the art equipment. A catch-and-release fisherman, except for immediate consumption and trout chowder, he tied his own flies and shared them with many others. His canine friends were many, and it was common to see three Golden Retrievers patiently waiting at the top of a cliff or sneaking into the warming room on top of Mt. Washington after a winter trip to the observatory. With his Portuguese Water Dog “Davis Pond,” he won championships in PWD Water Trials and in CPE Canine Agility Trials. He leaves behind his loyal companion “Webster Stream,” who stayed by his side night and day until the end.

Bill is survived by his wife of 33 years, Barbara McEvoy Sepe Bentley; his sons, Charles George Bentley and wife Eri of Utah and William Warren Bentley of Colorado; his grandson Charles Arthur Bentley of Colorado; his daughter-in-law Patti Soares Bentley of Colorado; and his former wife and mother of his children Carolyn Jones of New Hampshire. Also surviving are his stepsons Stephen G. Morrill, Michael J. Morrill, Jonathan H. Morrill, Joshua McEvoy Sepe, and honorary stepson John Weaver; his sister Laurie Welch and her husband Edward and niece Penny Welch of Massachusetts.

He was predeceased by his second wife, Nancy Morrison Bentley, and his stepson Eben McEvoy Sepe. 

The family extends thanks to all who provided care and support to Bill during his final years living with Parkinson’s Disease, and especially to Rachel Story, Julie Weaver, and Evgenii Semenikhin, dear friends who lovingly accompanied him in the final stages of his journey. Thanks, too, to the many who have generously shared so many memories of adventures with Bill.

A celebration of life and reception will be held Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 11 a.m., at the United Christian Church, 18 Searsmont Road, Lincolnville, Maine.