Selma Tyree Bentley

Selma Tyree Bentley was born July 27, 1935 in Nobob, Kentucky to the late Addys & Delsie Hood Tyree. She graduated from Tompkinsville High School in 1953 as Valedictorian then attended Bowling Green Business University. After graduating from BGBU she moved to Louisville, Kentucky where she worked at Belnap Hardware and Manufacturing Company as an executive secretary. In Louisville, she met Kenneth Bentley and they were married November 24,1956 in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Together they had three children, Dr. Deborah Bentley (Corby Brown), Alan Bentley, CPA, and Dr. Joseph Bentley (Garry Nash).

On Derby Day 1964 they moved to Gamaliel, Kentucky. Selma was a voracious reader, an avid UK basketball fan and a heck of a pinochle player. She was a skilled seamstress capable of creating anything from prom dresses to field commander uniforms. Corby once said that she knew more, about more different things than anyone he had ever met. More than anything, she was a loving wife, mom to her three children, and nannie to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 1950 she was baptized in Hagan’s Lake & was a member of the Gamaliel United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her husband, Kenneth, her three children, two grandchildren, Dr. Corey Brown, Christopher Brown & wife Tierra, and two great granddaughters, Ava & Alivia Brown.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by, her sisters Rachel Tyree Hardesty and Clarnell Emberton, and her brother Arnold Tyree.

Funeral Services will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, October 24, 2025, from Bartley & Sons Gamaliel Chapel in Gamaliel, with burial to follow in the Gamaliel Cemetery. Bro Charles Pruitt will officiate the service.

Visitation with the family will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2025, from 3:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and again on Friday, after 8:30 a.m. until the service time at 1:00 p.m. at Bartley & Sons Gamaliel Chapel.

Pallbearers: Joe Bentley, Alan Bentley, Corby Brown, Corey Brown, Christopher Brown, and John Grell.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Selma Tyree and Kenneth Lee Bentley Scholarship Fund or to the Kentucky United Methodist Children’s Home.

Bartley & Sons Gamaliel Chapel is honored to be entrusted with the care of Mrs. Bentley and her family at this time.