Obituary of Lee SENTMAN, Jr., Champaign County, Illinois Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Copyright 1999 Jan Gillespie From the pages of The News-Gazette April 7, 1998 UI track star Sentman dead at 86. Urbana, IL - Lee Sentman, Jr., 86, a former construction executive and University of Illinois track star, died at 6:45 p.m. Friday, April 5, 1996. A funeral Mass will be at 1pm Tuesday at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Champaign. The Rev. Mark Merdian will officiate. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 pm Monday at the Mittendorf- Calvert Funeral Home, Champaign chapel, 2400 Galen Drive. A wake service will be at 6:45 pm Monday. Mr. Sentman was born March 7, 1910, at Wyoming, Delaware, a son of Lee Hanley and Edna Hesse Sentman. He married Esther Dore on Dec. 26, 1931 at Chicago. Mrs. Sentman of Champaign survives. Also surviving are two sons, Lee H. Sentman III of Dewey, IL and John H. Sentman of Divide, Colo., 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Mr. Sentman was preceded in death by both parents, two sons, Henry and Peter, and a brother Warren Sentman. A Decatur High School track star, Mr. Sentman graduated form the UI in 1931 with a degree in civil engineering. He retired in 1978. During World War !!, he served as executive officer to the chief of construciton at General Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters. Mr. Sentman's time of 7.4 seconds in the indoor 60-yard high hurdles is the sixth fastest time ever recorded by a UI track Athlete in that event. His achievement is unique in that he accomplished it in 1931. It wasn't until 1954 that Willard Thompson became the second Illini to run a 7.4. At one time, Mr. Sentman also held world records in every high hurdle event from 60 through 75 yards. In 1930, he was awarded the Big Ten conference medal for achievemnet in academics and athletics. His son Lee Sentman III, a UI fencer, received the same medal in 1958, and they are believed to be the only father-son combination to win the award. Mr. Sentman was a member of St. Matthew Catholic Church of Champaign. Memorials may be made to the University of Illinois Athletic Association. ------------------------------------------------------------------ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organiza- tions or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contri- butor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Jan Gillespie