The funeral service for Jacob Bentz, 70, of Aberdeen, SD, will be 10:30am, Friday, February 6, 2026, at First Reformed Church, with Pastor Hank Bowen officiating. Lunch will be held following the service at the Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home Fellowship Hall. Burial at Artas Cemetery in Artas, SD at 3:30pm. Jacob died Friday, January 30, 2026, at Avantara in Groton, SD.

Visitation will be 5:00pm-7:00pm, Thursday, followed by a prayer service at 7:00pm at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 South Main Street.

Jacob Dean Bentz, son of Elmer and Myra (Knapp) Bentz was born October, 20 1955 in Eureka, SD. He grew up on the family farm near Artas, SD and attended school in Artas and then Eureka, graduating in 1974. He attended Vocational and Technical School in Watertown, SD.

Jacob married Joan Sanders on May 14, 1988 in Aberdeen, SD. They made their home in Aberdeen, SD. On February 18, 1991, he was overjoyed by the birth of his son, Thomas Henry, named after his beloved brother who died in childhood from a drowning accident.

Jacob worked at Safeguard Manufacturing for nine years. In 1987, he started working as a custodian at Northern State University, retiring in 2020. Throughout his 33 years at NSU, he enjoyed meeting students and faculty, and working many sporting events. During this time, Jacob often worked part-time jobs mowing lawns or helping others however he could.

In his younger years, he spent time fishing and hunting. Jacob liked gardening and visiting Storybook Land with his son, nephews, and nieces. He was a member of the Loyal Order of Moose in Aberdeen. Jacob continued to play pinochle with his family throughout his life and was an avid watcher of Westerns. He liked to spend time with the community of mall walkers he joined each morning. Jacob was never late for an event, and friends and family could rely on him to remember their birthday every year. He enjoyed many holidays with his loving and caring in-laws in Aberdeen and joined them on their family trips to the Black Hills. He was a lifelong member of the Reformed Church of the United States, baptized and confirmed in the Artas Reformed Church and later a member of First Reformed Church in Aberdeen. He found comfort and peace in the fellowship of the church and the loving congregation.

Grateful for having shared Jacob’s life are his wife Joan, son Thomas, daughter-in-law Ashley (Dragt) Bentz, granddaughter Jaclyn Rudebusch, grandson Beau Bentz, twin granddaughters Madilynn and Mekalynn Bentz, and granddaughter Evelyn Bentz as well as siblings Carol (Harvey) Opp of Vermillion SD (children: Mark, Lauren & Nathan), Sara (Dan) Geist of Crookston MN (children: Andreas, Marietta and Katherine), and Shirley (Jeff) Taylor of Sioux Center IA (children: Jane and David).

Preceding Jacob in death are his parents Elmer (1929-1980) and Myra Marietta (1930-1990), and brothers, Thomas Henry (1957-1966) and Paul Eric (1959) and grandson, Carson James Bentz (2024).