Last week I blogged that my move was over. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. It's really never going to end. The amount of stuff at the "new" house will see to that. I had some smartass things that I think are funny to blog today, but I've just learned of another funeral I won't be able to attend, for another close friend I haven't been able to visit with much for over 20 years. I would say something about the admiration and respect I had for him, but I think his obituary speaks for itself:
In Loving Memory
Don Perkins Bennett, Sr.
11/20/1933 - 3/15/2013
Don Perkins Bennett, Sr. was born in Sabine County, Texas on November 20, 1933 and passed from this life on March 15, 2013. After spending the first 12 years of his life as a barefoot farm boy in the backwoods of East Texas, he moved to Beaumont and graduated from Lamar High School in 1951. Don served in the U.S.A.F. from 1953-1957, and returned to graduate from Lamar University in 1961 with a B.S.E.E., going to work in the aerospace industry, first in Seattle, and then in California.
Don returned to Texas in 1968, taking a job with Boeing Aerospace until 1990. His long career ranged from training Apollo astronauts to designing safety specifications for the Space Shuttle. He received a Silver Snoopy for his work on Apollo 11, as well as many other mission achievement awards. Don retired from Boeing in 1990, continuing work on the Space Shuttle program at SRS Technologies until 1995. He later came out of retirement in 2003 to provide support for the Return To Flight Program at Barrios Technology, with his final retirement in 2010.
Don began his life-long commitment to the Boy Scouts of America in 1969 when his eldest son joined a local cub pack, and continued his volunteer work right up until his final illness. Don's many accomplishments included the transformation of the Camp Karankawa Winter Camp, held by the Bay Area Council, into a large and well-established event. Don always liked to point out that there were more merit badge counselors by the 20th year of his directorship than there were campers in his first year. Don was also known for his successful mentorship of Troop 609 in League City, TX, which went from 4 boys in 1982 to a large and thriving community of scouts by 2013. Don was awarded the Silver Beaver, the Bronze Pelican, and the St. George emblem for his work. He was also a member of the Order of the Arrow scouting honor society and the Wood Badge adult leadership program. He was especially proud of the many boys he mentored to the rank of Eagle Scout.
Don will always be remembered for his green thumb, his love of oak trees, his talent with a chainsaw and his devotion to his family. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years, Patricia Bedair Bennett, his parents, Bertha Solly and Benjamin Perkins Bennett, his brother, Archibald Bennett, and sister Joy Cowart.
He is survived by his sisters, Maurene Roberts and Dorothy McCall, and by his children, Don P. Bennett, Jr. (Deborah), David B. Bennett, Margaret R. Bennett (Richard Luciano), and his grandchildren, Margaret, Benjamin, and William Bennett, Susanna and Elizabeth Luciano, plus the many young men and women whom he took into his heart and loved as an extended family.
In lieu of flowers, please send a contribution in his honor to the Boy Scouts of America, Bay Area Council at www.bacbsa.org.
Friends are cordially invited to the visitation with the family on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 1:00 P.M. followed by the Funeral Service at 2:00 P.M. at the Jeter Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, 311 N. Friendswood Dr., Friendswood, TX 77546 (281) 992-7200. Interment will be on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 1:00 P.M. at Yellow Pine Cemetery in Yellow Pine, TX.
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