Former Congresswoman Helen Bentley Enters Hospice Care

A family spokesman confirms former journalist and congresswoman Helen Bentley has entered hospice care.

"She entered hospice care yesterday," said Joe Scharck, Sr., a family spokesman who has known Bentley since 1972.

"She wants to thank GBMC for taking care of her. She wants to thank the people at Gilchrest Hospice Care. She wants to thank everyone for their help and support in their past, and she wants to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers."

Schrack told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 that her family is with her and they ask for privacy.

Bentley is 92.

Schrack said Bentley left the hospital earlier in the week.

The Republican served for 10 years in the House of Representatives, representing parts of Baltimore County, from 1985 to 1995, In 1994, she ran for the Republican nomination for governor, finishing second to Ellen Sauerbrey. In 1945, she was hired as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, covering the Port of Baltimore and labor issues.

As a reporter, she was the first woman to cover the American Federation of Labor convention.

At one time, she produced and hosted a weekly television show on WMAR-TV, "The Port that Built The City and State." At the time the station was owned by the newspaper.

Bentley was appointed chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission by President Richard Nixon in 1969. In recent years, Bentley operated her own consulting firm on maritime and labor issues.

In 2006, under then-governor Robert Ehrlich, the port was renamed the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. She has also served as a consultant to the Port.

Ehrlich succeeded Bentley in Congress in 1995.

In an email to WBAL NewsRadio 1090, Ehrlich said, "my heartfelt prayers are with my friend and mentor Helen Bentley. Congresswoman Bentley is beloved by Marylanders because of her unqualified support of all things Maryland, especially the Port of Baltimore.

"Generations of our citizens have benefited from her public service. In return, the people made her one of the most popular politicians in Maryland history."

Maryland Port Administration Director James White issued the following statement on Bentley:

“As some of you may already know, former U.S. Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley, whom the Port of Baltimore is named after, is in ill health and has entered hospice care. There is no one more synonymous with the Port of Baltimore than Helen. From her days as a rare female Baltimore Sun reporter in the 1940’s covering the Port of Baltimore through her years hosting “The Port That Built a City and State” on local television, Helen introduced the Port of Baltimore and the important role that seaports play in our economy to the general public. She went on to become the first woman chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and a member of Congress for ten years where she was a strong advocate for economic opportunities and manufacturing.

"Helen has devoted a large part of her life to the Port of Baltimore and the men and women who work here. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.”