John Ross Bennett passed away peacefully on March 25 at the age of 89.

He is survived by his loving wife, Beverly, sons Gerald Bennett, and Richard Bennett and his wife Ellie, his step-son Scott Murray and his wife Debbie, his step-son Paul Murray and his wife Kiki Boteler, and his step-daughter Carol Ann Murray and her husband Mark Morgan, and by his beloved grandchildren, Julia, Jessica, Charles, Jack and Juliet, and step-grandchildren, Chris and Megan. He is also survived by his sister, Carolyn (Bennett) Scott, his brother Ray and his wife Carole Bennett, his brother Lee and his wife Sandy and many nieces and nephews whom “Uncle Ross” cherished. He was also predeceased by his loving parents Lucille and Frank Bennett.

“Ross” was born on May 15, 1928, the oldest child of the late Lucille and Frank Bennett, in Osborn, Missouri. He grew-up and attended High Prairie Country School in Cameron, Missouri through eighth grade, and then graduated from Cameron High School in 1946. He served honorably in the Army during the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 and worked for a number of years with his father on the Bennett farm before and after his time in the service. In 1960, he moved his family to California, where he began an impressive career as a Hydronic Pump Engineer at Johnston Pump. Ross was a Free Mason and over the years was active in numerous civic organizations including the American Legion, the “Y”s Men of the Mount Laurel (NJ) YMCA, and the Moorestown (NJ) Theater Company, where he built sets, worked on the stage crew, and ushered for many years. Though he considered himself a Methodist, he attended the First Baptist Church of Moorestown for 31 years and was known for spending many volunteer hours doing odd jobs for family members of the church who were homebound or needed a ride to cancer treatments.

Some of the happiest times of Ross’ life were spent travelling, fishing, hunting and figuring out a solution to every problem. He was lucky to travel the world during the Korean War to Germany and France, and with his wife Beverly (whom he married in 1985) to such distant locales as Mexico, England, Scotland, Wales, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. He and Bev also visited Alaska with his step-son Scott and his wife Debbie, and he took two cross-country trips with his step-daughter Carol Ann and her husband Mark and his grandchildren. He especially enjoyed a trip with 12 family members to Ireland in 2004, and a much anticipated trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 2012. Ross enjoyed solving any problem and knew how to do “everything”, and was frequently asked to help build something, trouble-shoot something or re-build the grand-children’s toys. He liked spending time working puzzle books or making anything out of plastic canvas – which were then given to many as gifts. But, his special love was hanging out with his grand-children, playing countless rounds of Uno, watching them play baseball, teaching them how to use tools, seeing them perform on stage in all their musical theater productions, or attending their celebrations or graduations.

A time of Family Visitation will take place on Wednesday, April 4th from 9 to 11 AM followed by a Funeral Service both held at the Poland-Thompson Funeral Home in Cameron, Missouri, with a Graveside Service to follow. A Memorial Celebration of a life well lived will be held at the First Baptist Church of Moorestown, NJ, later in the Spring. Memorial donations may be made in Ross’s memory to Cameron (MO) Masonic Lodge or to the Moorestown Theater Company, 19 W. Main, Moorestown, NJ 08057. Online condolences: www.polandthompson.com.

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