Rash's Surname Index
Notes for John Peale BENT
John P. Bent, 96, of Lake Forest, a retired business executive and philanthropist who was instrumental in the merger of St. Luke's and Presbyterian Hospitals in Chicago, died Saturday at home. He was born Aug. 5, 1908.
He was a native of Harrisburg, Pa., and earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1930 where, for three years, he played varsity ice hockey. In 1932, he was selected to be a member of the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team which participated in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y., and was awarded a silver medal for his team's second-place finish behind Canada.
He began his business career with General Foods in New York City as a salesman. Despite his beginning salary of $25 per week, he was always thankful for being able to have a job during the Depression.
In 1932, he was transferred by General Foods to Chicago where he continued to work for the company until 1935 when he became vice president of sales for Soybean Products Co., a startup company, which was eventually sold to Borden's in 1943.
In 1943, he enlisted in the Navy and became an air intelligence officer. He served on the aircraft carriers USS Card in the Atlantic and the USS Wasp in the Pacific. It was during the raids on Okinawa in 1944 that he received the Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound he sustained when the Wasp was hit by a Japanese kamikaze. For his involvement in this action, he was also awarded a Bronze Star.
In 1946, following the end of the war, he formed a venture capital investment partnership with which he was active until 1963, when he became chairman of the newly formed Hartford Plaza Bank, which was sold to the LaSalle Bank in 198O. During his involvement as a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital, he devoted his efforts to merging that institution with Presbyterian Hospital and, in 1961, became the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the combined organization, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.
From 1969-1981, he was president of the Board of Trustees of the Shedd Aquarium, and he also served two terms as alderman of the First Ward in Lake Forest. He was active in numerous other civic organizations.
He was preceded in death in 1992 by his wife, Mary.
He is survived by two sons, John, Jr. (Janet) and Stephen (Anne); five grandchildren and seven great- grandchildren.
A private graveside service was held in the Lake Forest Cemetery.
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