Jerry H. Bentley, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, passed away on Sunday, July 15, 2012 after a nearly seven month battle with cancer.Jerry was a resident of Chattanooga for most of his younger years. He was a generous humanist, pioneering world historian, and inspiring mentor to scholars around the globe.Born the oldest of three sons in 1949 in Birmingham, Ala., Jerry was raised in Chattanooga. His education and career were entirely in public schools: he graduated from Brainerd High School in 1967, earned a B.A. in History in 1972 at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, finished his Masters (1974) and Ph.D. (1976) at the University of Minnesota, and joined the University of Hawaii in 1976 where he remained until his retirement in 2012. As a founding member of the World History Association and editor of the Journal of World History for 22 years, he developed standards and curriculum internationally, established a flourishing Ph.D. program at the University of Hawaii and fostered a world history program at Capital Normal University in Beijing. Although his early research focused on Renaissance humanist scholarship of the Bible, in Hawaii, he emerged as one of the international leaders in world history scholarship and teaching, publishing a wide range of articles and books, including a market leading textbook, "Traditions and Encounters". Jerry is remembered internationally by his colleagues and students as an inspiring teacher and wise mentor of undergraduates, graduate students, junior faculty, and teachers. He is remembered by his family as the husband, son and brother who never forgot an occasion, and was a loving, caring and attentive in every instance.Jerry is survived by his wife, Carol Mon Lee; stepson, Michael Lee Shinn; parents, William Carey and Billie Bentley; and brothers, Murry Bentley (Linda Clark) and Larry Bentley (Caroline).Visit www.heritagefh.com to share words of comfort to the family.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Jerry H. Bentley Endowed Scholarship at the University of Hawaii at Manoa through the UH Foundation.This announcement courtesy of Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 East Brainerd Road.
