Mrs. Gwendolyn Ricketson Mincey Bentley of Atlanta, Georgia,  passed away on February 20, 2026, in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 97. She was born July 10, 1928, as the youngest child in the loving family of  Reverend Rollo J, Mincey and Mrs. Nina Ricketson Mincey in Ocilla, Georgia. Gwen was a beloved and loving daughter, sister, wife, and mother, and was known for her wise and peaceful spirit. She grew up in Warthen, Georgia, learning with her siblings a love of Shakespeare, music, and the King James Bible.

Gwen later attended the Georgia State College for Women, where she studied English, and performed in the college modern dance troupe. She shared a year at GSCW with Flannery O’Connor, and Gwen possessed a “happier” version of Ms. O’Connor’s dark sense of humor.

When her family moved to Thomaston, Georgia, she met James Lynwood Bentley, Jr. (Jimmy).  They married in 1951, moving to Atlanta when Jimmy was appointed Executive Secretary to Governor Herman Talmage. Gwen and Jimmy had three children (Betty, Jim, and Sam) while living in the public eye as Jimmy won two state-wide elections for Comptroller General, stepping back from politics into business in 1970.

These were not boring times.   Gwen, along with Eloise Smith and Betty Foy Sanders, hosted the first integrated function at the Atlanta Commerce Club, causing people in some quarters to grind their teeth, publicly, and Gwen and Jimmy were tear-gassed during the 1968 Paris student riots.

Gwen and Jimmy raised their family in the historic Wash Collier House (circa 1823), which they decorated beautifully, and used to host countless parties, from barbeques to New Year’s Eve black tie events, with guests ranging from noted politicians and journalists to neighbors and all of their children’s friends.  If you ever needed a home cooked meal or a place to stay, Gwen would take you in and treat you as one of the family.

Over the decades she shared her love of music, playing DeBussy, Cole Porter, and hymns on the piano, and songs such as “Yesterday” and “Dream a Little Dream of Me” on the ukele, which she took up again, masterfully, when she was 86 after a decade-long break.  She last played the uke on February 17 of this year.  She knew every lyric and melody to every song written before 1960 and could harmonize to anything.

Several years after husband Jimmy’s death in 2003, Gwen turned the Atlanta family home over to her daughter Betty and moved to Calvin Court in Buckhead, Atlanta, which she and friends seemingly converted to a college dorm.

Her seven grandchildren (work ranging from astrophysics to law, counseling, medicine, and literary, digital/creative and performing arts) share her love of family and communicate frequently from their lives in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, London UK, Savannah, and Atlanta. Gwen spent her last year happily at Azalealand Nursing Home in Savannah where staff gave her the nickname of “The First Lady” due, they say, to her elegance, kindness, and beauty. During one recent memorable music session there, she sang second harmony on “My Darling Sunshine” with granddaughter Abby and Abby’s fiancee Vikram. Those who knew Gwen best feel that Georgia has lost one of its most gracious ladies.

Daughter Betty passed away in 2019, and Gwen is survived by her sons Jim and Sam, their spouses Cameron and Fiona, son-in-law Wade Watson, and grandchildren Abby, Jay, Taylor, Jack, and Rory Bentley, Jordan and Hamp Watson, Hamp’s wife Preetha Nandi, and great-grandson Melvin Nandi-Watson.

The family will hold a celebration of Gwen’s life in July, near the date of her birthday.  Donations to the American Heart Association to honor Gwen may be made at www.heart.org.