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Bentzels MIXING LOVE AND FAITH BUILDS FAMILY OF 8 WRITER: ZIRCONIA ALLEYNE
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he Bentzels are a bustling bunch. There’s Chris — a Pennsylvania bred Army veteran who was just named superintendent of Christian County Public Schools. There’s his wife Kelly, a hometown belle who teaches at South Christian Elementary. There’s their oldest daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Charlie — both Christian County High School grads who got married three years ago after reconnecting. And then there’s the littles - Benjamin, 7, Caroline, 6, Jaycee, 3, and Everlee, 2. The Bentzels have a full house that’s filled with family, faith and love. Before being named superintendent, Chris was principal at several local schools — Lacy Elementary, Christian County Middle and Christian County High. Before that, he taught fifth grade at Belmont Elementary from 2005 to 2009 and served as a pilot in the U.S. Army for 10 years prior. Getting stationed at Fort Campbell is actually how Chris met Kelly and her 4-year-old daughter at the time, Sarah. “We met through friends and we started dating, and then 9/11 happened and I was going to get sent to Iraq,” he said. “We had intentions on getting married, but we decided to do it before I left.” Chris and Kelly tied the knot in November 2002, and Chris left for Iraq at the end of January 2003. “I was in Iraq for eight months, then I was in Central America for a year, and we decid3 H O P TOW N FA M I L I E S // AU G U S T 2 0 2 0
