Frances Bennett

Frances Edith Wright Bennett passed away on February 6, 2018 in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. She was born in Portland, ME on May 16, 1918. She was the daughter of Joseph and Fannie Wright. She would tell you that she grew up during the Great Depression, but she was totally unaware of it.  She loved her childhood, skiing to school in the winter, playing the violin, going to movies with friends and reading. In high school, she was chosen the Snow Queen. She went to Syracuse University, studying English, and met the Man of her Life, Richard Bacon Bennett, while he was at nearby Colgate University. They were married on August 23, 1939. He was the son of Russell C. Bennett of East Hampton, NY and Miami Beach, FL and Annie Lewis Bennett of Old Saybrook, CT. They lived for a while in Brooklyn, NY but moved to several places in New Jersey where they raised four daughters.  They also had homes in East Hampton, NY and Florida. She was also a fabulous seamstress, sewing many beautiful outfits and costumes for her daughters and granddaughters.

Always vibrant, elegant and gracious, Frances W. Bennett always had time for her husband, family, children, grandchildren and many friends.  They will tell you she made excellent chocolate chip cookies and lemon meringue pie, but her culinary talents were best showcased with swordfish!   She loved playing golf, bridge, or board games like Sorry with her kids and grandkids. She took up golf at 40 and played for the next 50 years!  After all of her husband’s friends passed away, he allowed her to join him fly fishing in Maine and she went until she was 90, telling great fishing tales about her triumphs.  She was a voracious reader, consuming a book a day until her eyesight failed her.  She could always make people laugh, smile and feel good.

She is survived by her four daughters, Georgia Panya, Ginnie Munson (husband, James I Munson III), Barbara Walters (husband, Ronald G. Walters), and Joan Mickelson, grandchildren, Coria Panya, Ryan Feeley, Natalie Feeley-Robinson, and Lesley Edwards, and great grandson, Johnathan Patrick Robinson. She also has three living brother-in-laws, Gunnar Bennett, Joshua Bennett, and Russell C. Bennett, Jr. Numerous nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews will celebrate her life.

A Memorial Service will be held at Vicar’s Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach on Friday, February 9, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. Inurnment will be in Old Saybrook, CT at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in her honor to her favorite charities: St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, MT or Vicar’s Landing Scholarship Fund.