Mary Josephine Bentler was born to Joseph and Deina Holtkamp Bentler on January 26, 1920 in Houghton, Iowa. Mary is a distant relation of Walt’s through the Link side of the family.

Mary was the 6th of eleven children born to Joseph and Deina Bentler. The family were farmers near the then unincorporated Pilot Grove. In 1937, Deina died. The family continued to live on the farm. In the 1940 census, her brothers Louis and Leo were helping their father while Mary and her sister Gertrude were working as housemaids.

On October 15, 1940, Mary Bentler married Linus Menke. They were married at St. John’s Church in Houghton. I find it interesting that the race is listed as German. Both the bride and groom were born in the U.S., as were both of Mary’s parents.

Linus and Mary had a farm in Pleasant Ridge township in Lee County, Iowa. They had 9 children. When Linus and Mary were older, the lived in West Point. The family was very involved in church activities and work with St. Mary’s and Marquette schools.

Mary died on May 16, 2004 in Fort Madison, Iowa.

There is a brief mention of Linus’s dad Al Menke in this post.