A4 • Friday, January 15, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Bentley remembered for love of music
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
A love for the music of the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones propelled the musical and
artistic career of Bonnie Bentley.
“I think every creative person in the world
derives their infl uence from their mentors,”
Wyatt Tuttle, Bentley’s son, said. “For her it
was the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. That
was a huge light in her life.”
Bentley died in a New Year’s Day blaze at
her Seventh Avenue home.
Over decades in Portland and the North
Coast, she established herself as a musi-
cal talent and performer who showcased her
style and personality, Tuttle recalled.
Her motto in life came from rocker Patti
Smith: “I am an American artist and I have
no guilt.”
Born April 27, 1951, Bentley grew up in
Portland. Her father, Paul Boggs, was a tug-
boat operator for Tidewater Barge Lines and
her mother, Larene, was an ice skater. Her
fi rst musical instrument was a recorder and
her fi rst band was named Gomper after a
Rolling Stones song.
Bentley moved to Astoria in 1972 after
meeting her fi rst husband, Mark Tuttle, in a
local club. Wyatt was born in 1976.
After her divorce in 1981, Bentley returned
to Portland, where she continued her musical
pursuit with The Twist, an all-woman band,
along with The Rhythm Benders, the Bon-
nie Bentley Project and the Phantom Tear-
drops. She played a Fender Stratocaster, a
pink Telecaster and anywhere she lived was
fi lled with instruments, Wyatt Tuttle recalled.
Musician Pat Baum met Bentley in the
early 1980s when they were both playing in
rock bands in the Portland area. “I was doing
sound at a club called Satyricon and she
needed a drummer,” Baum said.
Bentley’s passion and dedication to music
cemented their friendship, which was to last
for decades. They played in The Twist and
later the Tsunami Twist. “She’d been play-
ing since she was 16,” Baum said. “She had
a really good idea of who she was and what
kind of sound she had.”
Baum viewed Bentley as an inspiration to
women.
“She was very driven, very talented,”
Baum said. “She was extremely generous
with her talent. She shared it with other peo-
ple and she brought other people on board.
She just wanted to share her music and
enthusiasm with people. She also wanted
other women to pick up their instruments
and play.”
Younger women were inspired as well,
Tuttle added. “She was kind of a very power-
ful woman to other women as well as far as
fronting a rock band. A lot of my friends who
went to high school with me look up to her as
sort of a mentor as a powerful female fi gure.”
A songwriter, Bentley recorded live
and studio material, some of which will be
released in an upcoming EP.
Seaside musician Bruce Thomas Smith
appreciated Bentley’s original songwriting.
“It reminded me of Fleetwood Mac, Petty,
the Stones,” he said.
Longing to return to the coast, Bentley
moved to Cannon Beach, where she worked
at and lived above the White Bird Gallery.
She started her own business as a book-
binder, Books Nouveau, making hand-
crafted paper products, journals and wedding
albums. She later managed the Shearwater
Gallery in Seaside.
She married Cannon Beach business
owner David Dasse and the two traveled
extensively. The couple later divorced.
It was music that remained her lifelong
pastime, however, with new groups and gigs
throughout the coast.
Guitarist Chuck Baker met Bentley in
Seaside. “We played gigs all over the place
on the North Coast for a few years,” he
recalled. “She knew so many people and had
many connections.”
Baker said Bentley had “a million songs.”
“She would lay out the song structure,
and the vocals, and we would get the band
rockin’,” he said. “We always did an occa-
sional Stones song because she had an undy-
ing love for Keith Richards.”
Baum said she and Bentley remained
in touch over social media for many years.
When Baum returned to Portland after many
years in Mexico, the two continued collabo-
rating. “We have a song called ‘Terrible, Ter-
rible, Terrible,’ about how we’re going to live
with what we’ve got.”
She and Bentley envisioned creating
a rock ‘n’ roll camp for girls, with online
lessons.
Bentley is survived by her son, Wyatt
Tuttle; her grandchild, Allie; a sister, Peggy
Senn, in Longview, Washington; and a
brother, Richard Boggs.
Wyatt Tuttle hopes to raise money via
GoFundMe — Bonnie Bentley’s Final
Requests and Wish Fund — to pay for his
mother’s fi nal services and remembrance.
Those wishing to honor her memory are
also invited to support the Jeremy Wilson
Foundation for musician health and services
and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
Photos Courtesy of Wyatt Tuttle
ABOVE: Mark Tuttle and Bonnie Bentley at their wedding. BELOW: Bonnie
Bentley playing with The New Creatures.
Let’s establish common ground in our community
GUEST
COLUMN
BRIAN OWEN
I moved to Seaside in 2012. I
found a community that embraced
me for me, a local coffee shop
who recognized that I was more
than just a visitor, a local brewery
whose staff always had a friendly
welcome and maybe a joke or
two. You see, in 1968, I was born
in Gold Beach. I am a water boy,
not drawn to go into the water but
drawn to be near it.
At this point, I’m sure you’re
asking, what is Brian talking
about? Where is he going with this
intro paragraph? Wait, I’ve never
seen anything Brian has written!
Well, maybe a nice social media
post or food picture but not a full
article. Perhaps some of you are
asking who Brian is?
Let me introduce myself. My
name is Brian Owen, and I love
Seaside. I moved here in 2012
from McMinnville. When I moved
here, I worked in the real estate
industry. After a few years work-
ing and becoming a part of this
community, I left my corporate
job and started working at the
Seaside Chamber of Commerce.
Personally, the most challenging
move I’ve ever made. You see, I
left paid health insurance, 401(k),
stock options, and the ability for
advancement.
So why move jobs, Brian?
I made the life change because
I found a community where I
thrived, a community I could
be me, and a community I felt I
could personally grow into a bet-
ter Brian, a community I wanted
to make my permanent home. You
see, it was the fi rst community I
felt my work didn’t defi ne me —
a place where friends and I could
grow old together.
Over the past 10 months, this
world has changed, everywhere
from Main Street to corporate
America. From family to friends to
foes, all have been affected. Some
have profi ted, some have been
ruined and all of us shaken.
I sit here this, morning strug-
gling with a bit of depression,
a bit of anxiety, and a bit of sad-
ness. You see, I care that this cur-
rent world has pushed friendships
to break, families to argue, and
co-workers to show their frustra-
tions to and at one another. Our
community is divided, the energy
and emotion is troubling.
I sit here asking myself, how do
I face those who have told me they
will no longer be friends with or do
business with or speak to others?
I struggle with how can I help
mend fences or open opportuni-
ties to establish common ground?
I struggle and wonder, do I have
the energy and strength to give my
community what it needs?
I wonder how many of you are
asking the same questions? I won-
der how you plan to meet that per-
son who may have frustrated you
in some way? Maybe they angered
you in ways you’ve never felt. I
wonder how our community will
look in six months and two years.
With all this refl ection I’ve pro-
cessed today, I personally have
found some answers.
I am going to interact with
everyone as I always have, with
respect. I may disagree with some-
one’s expressed views or even the
brand of car they drive. I may not
understand their past or their cur-
rent situation, either personally or
professionally. What I can do is be
true to myself. What I can be is the
best version of Brian I possibly can
be.
I’m going to place my energy
into fulfi lling the task and goals
I’ve set aside over the past four to
fi ve months. I’m going to be active
in helping others fi nd what they
need. I’m going to honor my mar-
riage by being more present.
You see, just months after leav-
ing my comfortable job and shak-
ing up my life, I found the one per-
son I love more than anyone else,
the person who calms me with
a smile, the person who knows
what’s going on inside me without
even a word spoken.
I have found so much in our
community that I never thought
was possible — so many friend-
ships, so many growth opportuni-
ties, so many positive, enriching
moments that give me hope for all
of us.
Today I ask you, how are you
going to move forward? How are
you going to interact with some-
one who challenged you in any
way? How are you going to meet
that person who frustrates you?
I ask you to see that person
as a whole. I ask that you to give
grace to all. I ask that you remem-
ber we live here as neighbors. Yes-
terday I was reminded that “fences
make good neighbors.” I was
also reminded of the good neigh-
bor fence. A good neighbor fence
allows for privacy but also allows
for a window into your neighbor’s
world.
I ask if you must have a fence
between you and a neighbor to
make sure that fence is the good
neighbor style. And every once
in a while, look through the fence
boards. Every once in a while, see
if you can fi nd that one positive
gesture to help the neighborhood.
Our community is a goal in
someone’s life, a place that drives
their dreams. Our community is
my dream! The place I belong.
Brian Owen is the CEO of the
Seaside Chamber of Commerce.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Contact local agencies for latest
meeting information and atten-
dance guidelines.
TUESDAY, JAN. 19
Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District Board
of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside School District,
6 p.m., www.seaside.k12.or.us/
meetings.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 3 p.m., Seaside
Civic and Convention Center,
415 First. Ave.
Seaside Tree Board Commit-
tee, 4 p.m., cityofseaside.us.
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
THURSDAY, JAN. 21
cityofseaside.us.
FRIDAY, JAN. 29
Seaside Transportation
Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
cityofseaside.us.
TUESDAY, JAN. 26
Seaside City Council, 2-5 p.m.,
goal setting, cityofseaside.us.
MONDAY, JAN. 25
Seaside Airport Advisory
Committee, 6 p.m., cityofsea-
side.us.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
SATURDAY, JAN. 30
Seaside City Council, 2-5 p.m.,
goal setting, cityofseaside.us.
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