You don’t spend 30 years on the job without accumulating a few colourful stories and keepsakes along the way.

In Fred Bentley’s case, it was one particular item that caught his eye. But we’ll get to that in a bit.

First, we want to create a portrait of a good man who did a good job during his life.

Bentley spent his whole career working on and around buses. He started at Grey Coach in the 1970s, and a few years later made the move to join the GO Transit ranks. He spent most of his career at GO’s Steeprock bus garage in North York.

Bentley, a born and raised Torontonian, eventually moved to Mississauga, where he raised his two daughters, Lisa and Julie.

Julie Bentley-McLoughlin says her dad was a great family man and a hard worker.

“He had some really good friends at GO Transit and enjoyed his time there – he took immense pride in his work,” says Bentley-McLoughlin.

After decades of service, Bentley retired in May 1996. To say his retirement was a memorable affair would be an understatement.

On his last day, Bentley and his family hired a Cadillac limousine and filled it with custom made balloons that read “see you later, fellas” in large black font. As he rolled up to his retirement party, balloons erupted from the limo’s trunk. This story was talked about for years by GO bus staff.

That’s where a unique retirement gift comes into this tale.

A real work of art.

Bentley-McLoughlin says the large painting was originally on the office wall at the Steeprock bus garage and was given to her dad when he retired.  

She says her dad proudly displayed the artwork in his living room until he passed away in 2017.

Now, Bentley-McLoughlin and her family have decided to donate the painting back to the company her father faithfully served for more than three decades.

“We are so happy for the painting to find its way back to GO Transit – it’s a special tribute to our dad,” says Bentley-McLoughlin. “There’s really no greater honour.”

Anthony Pezzetti, GO Transit’s senior manager of bus operations, says the painting will be hung at the Streetsville GO bus garage in Mississauga.

Pezzetti says it will be a great addition to the existing “GO Bus Museum”, which contains artifacts from current and former employees that worked in the bus division. A fitting tribute to a man that spent much of his adult life in the transit industry.

“Getting the painting from Julie and her family, it really feels like part of our family has come home,” says Pezzetti.  

Fred Bentley may not be here to admire the painting, but with it hanging in a bustling transit depot it will capture the imagination of an entire new generation of transit workers for years to come.

And if every person’s life can be an original work of art, Fred’s is still being admired and shared.