Upon arriving at Big Sky on a beautiful day and greeting his guests, Bentley told them about what he was asked to do for Katie.
“The trip became our mission,” he said. “To reunite Katie with Big Sky. Everyone wanted to be a part of it.”
Up Calamity Jane, a popular Big Sky run, Bentley went with Katie’s ashes, to a photogenic spot on the knoll where large, raised letters spell out “BIG SKY,” with the resort’s majestic bowl spread across the background.
With the usually busy spot to themselves, the group solemnly assembled with GoPro cameras and smart phones, where Bentley carefully buried Katie’s ashes in front of the letter “K.”
“I asked God to accept Katie’s ashes,” he said. “I told him what a wonderful person she was, and how much she would be missed. He already knew this, but listened to me anyway. It was a beautiful, extraordinary moment in our lives—just as Katie would have wanted.”
Bentley and his guests produced a video for Travis and sent it to him for Katie’s life celebration, which was attended by more than 600 friends and family.
“Travis had told me that there would be so many people there that there was a good chance he wouldn’t see me anyway,” said Bentley. “Like I said, pretty much everybody who met Katie became her friend.”
What Comes After
Travis and the children moved into the new home that Katie helped design, and all are doing well, said Bentley. Not only has Travis remained a client and friend, but he’s also joined the board of a non-profit founded by the advisor, “Wings for Widows.”
Wings for Widows provides financial coaching, education, and other transitional services for recently widowed individuals. Bentley founded the organization after a colleague at Ameriprise passed away and Bentley, working with his widow, began to realize how few resources were available to widows struggling with grief and the practical matters of losing a spouse.
“Travis wanted to join our board, and this means we’ll get to hang out a lot more,” said Bentley. “As a widower, he also brings that experience to our team. He’s been down that road. How many other advisors have somebody like that?
“When I first got into this business, as an engineer, I did this because I was good with numbers. I learned along the way that I’m in this because of people and the huge impact we can have on their lives. And the huge impact they can have on ours. That is certainly the case with Travis and Katie,” said Bentley.
“To this day, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to take Katie back to Big Sky, back to the mountaintop and a little closer to heaven.”