Robert Bentz

One of the more recognizable people on the streets of Washington during the 1970s and 1980s was the RC Man. He was a frequent patron of all of the local restaurants and the nickname simply evolved from his beverage of choice. While many people remember the existence of this mysterious local resident, very few people know the story of the RC Man. Washington Rewind set out to change that. His name was Robert Bentz, and when you peel back the superficial layer of pizzas and RC bottles that most Washington residents only know him by, you will find a tender man who had to face many challenges.

Bob was born in Peoria in January 16, 1947 and lived in Washington during the early years of his childhood. Bob's parents (Erwin & Dorothy Bentz) realized during this time that his behavioral development differed from that of normal children, and by the time Bob was 9 years old, doctors diagnosed him as being mildly autistic.

Since Washington's public schools in the 1950s were not well-equipped to teach special-needs children, Bob's parents arranged for Bob to receive care from the Menninger Clinic, which was then located in Topeka, Kansas. Menninger provides housing & medical care for school-age kids with mental health challenges. In addition, they arranged "in-house" teaching if needed, but where possible, they had kids attend public schools.

Bob graduated from Topeka High School in 1966 and returned to Washington in June to resume living with his parents. John, Bob's younger brother and only sibling, graduated from Washington High School in May but then departed in the fall to attend college. So, for all practical purposes, Bob & John didn't grow up together.

Bob, who had developed a keen interest in electrical circuitry and gadgets (especially radios & TVs) at an early age, took some courses in those subjects at Illinois Central College shortly after his return home, making the Honor Roll with straight A’s. He also acquired some diagnostic equipment for electronic components to facilitate repairing radios. Unfortunately, due to his limited "self-starting" initiative, he used that equipment very infrequently.

Bob also loved to eat and found ways to bypass the restrictions imposed on him at home. During the 1970s & '80s, he was often seen riding his bicycle to reach various restaurants, especially the Tally-Ho. Once he even rode his bike to East Peoria to eat at Steak & Shake near the Illinois River. His attempt to escape detection was foiled, however, when a tire went flat on his way home. He had to call his dad to be retrieved, ending his ventures beyond Washington during that era.

Bob’s father Erwin passed away in 1979, the same week he was to retire from Caterpillar, and his mother Dorothy subsequently decided to start living part-time in Florida. She wanted to be near her favorite niece and arranged for a housekeeper to cook & clean for Bob, who stayed in Washington. That setup provided even more opportunity for him to surreptitiously eat away from home when the housekeeper wasn't around and to also have pizza delivered to the house, where pizza boxes could be hidden in the basement until trash day.

Since Bob was a night owl and Dorothy wasn't, she purchased a small house for him in Washington in 1989 on Parr Hue Lane to avoid having their sleeping schedules interfere with each other during times when she was home. He enjoyed being more independent and was exceptionally fortunate to have had great neighbors Delmar and Donna Cunningham across the street who knew the situation with Bob's family. They looked out for him, helping him in any way he would let them.

Bob would also help the Cunninghams. Donna remembered taking a broken stereo over to Bob one morning and he had it fixed by dinner time. When Donna was running errands, she would sometimes take Bob along. On one such occasion during the winter, Bob noticed only one of the pushbuttons on her radio had been pre-set to a station. He asked her why. The answer was that since that station was her favorite, she hadn't worried about any of the others. Never missing an opportunity to exploit the power of electronic gadgets, Bob went to work. While she took a few minutes to run into the store, Bob surprised her by programming the remaining buttons on the radio – mostly tuned, no doubt, to some of his favorite stations.

Donna’s recollections paint Bob as an extremely polite man, always saying “please” and “thank you.” When he would call her on the phone he always had the ritual of introducing himself with his full name and address, even though they were close and talked multiple times per week. ”Hello this is Robert O. Bentz and I live at 611 Parr Hue Lane…” He lived a quiet life on Parr Hue Lane. His lights and TV were on 24/7, the shades were always drawn, and, according to Donna, he kept it so cold “you could freeze meat in that house.” The Cunninghams were very special neighbors for Bob.

In Bob’s later years he reignited his bike riding voyages out of town and began riding his bicycle to Peoria, until police officers saw him on the bridge and put an end to that. Later, he graduated from bicycle to taxi and was driven to his favorite places, one of which being Landmark Center in Peoria where he would play video games.

Bob had hoped that when he reached the end of his life, his passing would be quick & relatively peaceful, and his wish was granted. He died at home of a heart attack March 15, 1994 at the age of 47 from long-standing health problems. Bob is buried next to his parents in Hillcrest Memory Gardens between Washington and Morton.

Tremendous thanks to John & Patricia Bentz as well as Donna Knabe for their significant contributions to this article.