A funeral service for Capt. David Bentley was held Friday morning at First Lutheran Church of Jamestown. Bentley’s casket is pictured being carried into the church by police. P-J photos by Eric Tichy

Most people knew David Bentley as a captain with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.

But as many learned Friday during his funeral service, Bentley wore many hats to many people. He was also a husband, a father, a brother, a grandfather, an uncle, an instructor and a mentor.

It was his ability to lead — sometimes with an added pinch of humor — that came up often inside a packed First Lutheran Church of Jamestown that included dozens of police officers, first responders, local officials and others impacted by Bentley over the years.

“From my first days of field training it was obvious that Dave was a leader,” Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said. “No matter what official title he held, or what the title meant or if it was officially given to him, I believe that many here today would say that he was a mentor. I could go on and on with his official titles but it’s these unofficial ones that truly demonstrate (who he was).”

Bentley died July 9 at the age of 62. Most of his 42-year career in law enforcement came with the Sheriff’s Office where he served in patrol, DWI enforcement, Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, SWAT Team and Sheriff’s Academy, among other units.

Officers walk up the stairs to the church Friday.

Over the years, Bentley trained many young deputies fresh out of the academy. The current sheriff is one of them.

“It would be an understatement to say it was a bit intimidating to get into the car with him,” Quattrone said of Bentley, who was his field training officer when he started out.

During Friday’s service, Quattrone recounted the time he and Bentley were responding to an armed robbery at a bowling alley in the south end of the county. The two took a curve a little too fast, prompting Bentley to suggest they make another turn and thus taking a slower route.

“And once we got to the scene and everything was safe, he informed me that was to slow me down,” Quattrone said. “Yes, the fast and furious driver, David W. Bentley, slowing us down.”

Bentley was a lifelong resident of the county. Born in October 1959, he attended Hudson Valley Community College, Jamestown Community College and the State University of New York at Fredonia. He worked as an officer in Fredonia and Ellicott before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 1985.

Officers salute as Bentley's casket is carried into the church.

Andrew Lawrence, a retired lieutenant with the Sheriff’s Office, said Bentley was a hard worker and never one to sit on his hands.

“He was what I would call very active,” Lawrence said. “From one end of this county to the other, he’d roll on anything. He came up through the ranks and through the years he served on many specialty divisions (and) later on he supervised a lot of those same divisions.”

“You name it, Dave did it,” he added. “Traffic tickets, DWIs — all kinds of calls for service — bar fights, family fights. ‘Could you chase a skunk off my porch’ calls. … SWAT calls. Fatal motor vehicle accident investigations; involved in homicide investigations. He did it all for 42 years.”

Lawrence said more than once he saw Bentley at the scene of a fender-bender.

“He’d walk over to a kid and put his arm around him and tell him, ‘It’s OK, these things happen. Sun comes up tomorrow, your old man’s got insurance. It’s going to be OK,'” Lawrence said. “Now, to us that might not seem like a big deal, but if you’re a 16- or 17-year-old and you just got your license, that is a big deal.”

Ann Bentley shared Friday what her brother meant to the family. She spoke with her other brothers, John and James, at her side.

“He was our glue,” she said. “He had long calls with Jim on the weekend and I don’t think a day went by that he and John didn’t speak or talk or do something. And he was my next door neighbor so I always knew he was there. For me, he was a constant — a big brother first and foremost, my protector from Day 1. Just knowing he was close gave me strength. He’d say, ‘I’m only 30 seconds away.'”

As others noted, Ann Bentley referred to her brother’s sense of humor and ability to make others smile.

“He was so many things to so many people,” she said, “but to me he was my brother, my protector, my friend. He gave me safety, strength and protection.”

Outside work, Bentley was a noted outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting with family. His obituary said he was a crack shot and enjoyed trips to South Dakota “with his brothers and son, as well as with his dog.”

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly; his children, Erik and Kaitlyn; a grandson, Sawyer; an aunt and second mother, Marilyn; and a mother and father-in-law, Allen and Mary.