Before the pandemic, a trip to the downtown Elmhurst Jewel might have gotten you an invitation from Don Bennett to join him for a cup of coffee and an offer to pick up the tab for your soup or salad. To Don, there were no strangers just friends he hadn’t met. From his Elmhurst Terrace apartment, Don would be seen on his bike heading to the Courts, library, Prairie Cafe, Fred’s Place, the Farmers Market and others. Over the years he got quite a following. This soft-spoken Christian man, who did not say much, would be the catalyst to bring people together creating lasting friendships. As people got to know Don better, they found him to be a man who loved our country and was very concerned how far the nation had drifted away from the Constitution as written by our founding fathers. His copy of the Constitution was always with him and anyone interested would receive one.
We thank Donald Bennett for his service as a Korean War veteran. During the war he was stationed in Nevada with a platoon that was involved with testing of nuclear warheads shot out from huge cannons. The cannon would shoot the bomb three miles and explode into a mushroom cloud. After the nuclear blast, Don’s platoon was assured there was no risk to walk the three miles to ground zero without any protective clothing. Don would develop a rash on his hands and lung issues that he attributed to the radiation exposure. He was the last surviving member of his platoon, but Don beat the odds reaching almost 90.
Speaking for the lives he touched and the friends he made, DON, WE MISS YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
Donald Eugene Bennett was born in Missouri to Issac Robert and Susie Tuttle Bennett. He became the youngest of 12 children, Leo, Norman, Robert, Mary Jane Hall, Mildred Utsler, James, George, Opal Boose, Archie, Dortha Burkhart and Doris. By nine years old, both his parents had died and his brother Leo and his wife Madge took him in their home in Elmhurst. It would be a loving family that would welcome in the birth of a daughter Carol Sunke and a son Lee. Carol and Lee would become more like a brother and sister to Don than a nephew and niece. Today Don is survived by Carol Sunke and countless nephews and nieces.
On Saturday April 2, there will be a memorial service celebrating Don’s life at 11 a.m. at Faith Evangelical United Methodist Church, 111 W. North Ave. in Elmhurst. Arrangements provided by the family.
