Stephen Fred Bentley 1949-2022 Lawton, OK

A memorial service for Stephen Fred Bentley, former co-publisher of The Lawton Constitution, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1313 SWD Ave., Lawton.

Arrangements are under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home.

Bentley died Nov. 4, 2022. He was 73. He was born May 3, 1949, in Lawton and grew up in the newspaper business. Bentley served as associate publisher of The Lawton Constitution from 1973 to 1990. He was named co-publisher along with his brother, Donald Shepler Bentley, in 1990, a position they served in until 2012.

Steve and Donald were the fourth generation to own the newspaper. Steve was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was appointed to the OU Board of Regents by Gov. David Walters and served 12 years. He also served on many state and local boards.

Bentley is survived by his wife, Sherry, of the home; daughter Stephenie Freeman of Santa Clarita, Calif.; two grandchildren; stepchildren Todd Murphy, Christy Goodin and Shay Murphy; eight step-grandchildren; and his brother, Donald S. Bentley of Lawton.