William Bennett Obituary

Bill and I were golfing competitors a good many years. We enjoyed the comradery. Guess we about came out even. I miss him.

A remarkably well-crafted tribute to a memorable man who will be greatly missed.

It was my privilege to join Bill for many meals in the Liberty Heights Retirement Center dining room. He frequently joked with the staff and appeared to be one of their favorites. He had many wonderful experiences to share, but was never boastful - a humble man who was easy to like. I was blessed to know him.

I met Bill through the Pikes Peak Road Runners and got to know him as we volunteered at club races and events. In 2005 he taught me his process for measuring race courses for certification as it was getting more difficult for him to do this work. Little did I know what I was getting involved with but soon learned with his guidance. This was only one of the many tasks Bill assisted the running club with over the years, but gave me a small peek at this amazing man. I was so sorry to learn of your loss earlier tonight and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. From another Air Force veteran, safe travels!

Bill was one of my good friends in both the Pikes Peak Roadrunners and the Eisenhower Men's Golf Cub from back in the early 80's What a great guy! He was a major reason the Clubs finish lines made the transition from a popsicle type finish line to the world class club it is today. His leadership was very inspiring. I will always remember him running the torch off of Pikes Peak with our club members to the OTC in Colorado Springs to kick off the 1983 National Sports Festival. We will miss him.

The Manhattan College alumni community shares the grief, and is now praying for our fellow alumni and the family at this time. The Alumni Office has been informed. As well as the Jasper Jottings community that I personally can reach. We are all a little poorer now. "No man is an island, entire of itself ... any mans death diminishes me". We are sorry for your loss.

My thoughts are on Mary and Bill and the many grand times we shared with both. Bill's many years of service to the Colorado Springs community both in running and Rotary. Run with God Bill!

I met Bill when his son Paul married my sister. Bill , Mary and Paul turned out to be a wonderful addition to our family. We all have spent several holidays together. I feel honored to have known Bill . He will be greatly missed in our family. Thankyou Bill for your service to this nation and for the friendship you shared with me.

Dear Dad,
Of course I knew it had to happen someday, but I still can't believe you're gone. I've never known life without you there, to guide me and inspire me and be my refuge when I needed you. And, as sad a day as this is, after all the tears have been shed, I'm left with a feeling of, dare I say it, joy. Joy to have known you, joy to have had the best damn Dad there ever was, and joy to know that, because of what you've done for me for my entire life, your legacy will live on.

Thanks, Dad,
Your son, Paul.

It is nearly impossible to distill decades of happy memories into a small paragraph so I know I won't be able to do my Grandfather justice in the few words I have. Sinking into my teary reveries, I recall a few bright memories that stand out like stars in the night sky. One memory I remember distinctly (and I just now discovered my brother has the exact same vivid memory) was waking my Grandpa up from his fake naps with the ringing of a small, antique bell, and he would get really fake mad and swear, "This is the last time you darned kids are waking me up from my nap!". Although the memory of this simple little game will stay with me forever, my Grandfather influenced me in far greater ways. As anyone who knew him no doubt knew, he was steadfastly dedicated to running and his superb health and fitness even into his advanced years always has and probably always will inspire me to remain fit, healthy and active. No summary of memories of my Grandfather would be complete without a mention of his extreme generosity when it came to supporting my music career. In my young naivete, I chose to pursue a career requiring extravagently expensive instruments. Despite this, my Grandfather chose to help and support me by purchasing me my instruments. I never felt like I could repay him for this generosity, but I did my best, and I do hope he enjoyed the annual bassoon recitals I put on at Liberty Heights during the years I studied music. Good bye, Grandpa! You will be so sorely missed by me, my family and all those whose lives you touched.

Dear Grandpa,

My trip down this memory lane began when I called Mom and she said you had fallen and couldn't get up. Granted, you were 91, so I think we'd all be lying if we didn't admit in some way or another we'd been dreading that this time would eventually come.

Going back through the years, I'll always remember Grandma and Grandpa's house in the Springs. Liberty Heights was great, and I think it suited them well when they moved there, but Liberty Heights just wasn't home like Grandma and Grandpa's house was. I remember when my sister Liz and I found a little bell that, on its own wasn't very loud, but it was plenty loud enough to wake someone up from a nap, which Liz and I did relentlessly to Grandpa. Of course, he brought it on himself because, whether he was actually napping or not, he'd hugely over-play being startled' and angry' at having been woken up. Kids our age found that absolutely hilarious, and because those sorts of things pretty much never get old, we would do it all the time. Over and over. Grandpa, however, was always a good sport and I can remember on more than one occasion this game ending only when Grandma needed' her bell back.

Another great memory I have of Grandpa was walking around that neighborhood with him in summer. He was the first one who showed me that mint actually is a real plant leaf and just grows out of the ground all by itself! I don't know why it had never occurred to me, but it blew my mind that gum-flavored plants existed. On one of those walks, I remember we had gone to a park to throw a ball back and forth. Being maybe 8 at the time, feats of strength were cool things to do and that trip to the park to play catch turned into look how far I can throw the ball, Grandpa!' In retrospect, it was probably more like Grandpa desperately playing outfield while 8-year-old Dave practiced power throws at the utter expense of accuracy.

But, as I sit out here in ((an undisclosed location)), probably the thing I identify with most about my Grandpa was a subject we nearly always touched on in conversation for as long as I can remember: his time in the Air Force. Of course, I'm sure it's only a coincidence that I ended up heading down that same path in life after growing up looking at all the cool pictures in his office and listening to his cool stories. I could write at length about the many stories he's told about testing H-Bombs, flying air rescues in Greenland, dining with the King and Queen of Thailand, et cetera, but the one story he told that truly stands out in my mind, probably due to its relation to similar recent events in my life, is his pursuit of Grandma, which featured many marathon drives from Houston to Maxwell AFB in Alabama. I think it's particularly memorable to me because it's so obviously hereditary: I can see it in myself and my Dad as well. While we Bennett men may all be pretty dang logical and stubborn on the outside, we certainly seem to have soft hearts.

I'm especially proud, though, that it was Grandpa who commissioned me. Graduating from the Academy was awesome, but Admiral Mike Mullen didn't know me like Grandpa did. When Grandpa pinned my lieutenant's bars on, I felt like I was being handed the torch. It was like he was welcoming me into that part of his life that he was so proud of, and was such a part of his identity.

I sure miss you, Grandpa.

My favorite memory of Bill is a ski trip we took not long after Paul and I were married. Bill had won a 4 day ski vacation to Crested Butte by winning his age category in the Pike's Peak marathon. Paul was an excellent skier, while I was a relative beginner. Bill was also a good skier, but he stayed with me the first 3 days, giving me pointers and confidence. The last afternoon, he went to ski a harder run, and I went bombing down a blue. Right under the lift, I wiped out and broke my thumb! To this day, that trip was the best time I ever had skiing, and it is mostly due to the wonderful conversations with Bill on the chair lifts.