William “Bill” Bennett, 91, slipped the surly bonds of earth last Thursday, February 9th, 2017, at Liberty Heights in Colorado Springs, his home for the last seventeen years. Bill was preceded in death by Mary, his wife of 47 years, and is survived by his sons, Paul and John, his grandchildren David and Elizabeth, and many friends that will miss his smiles, jokes, and dedication to service.
He spent the formative years of his life in Queens, New York, and volunteered for the US Army Air Forces as soon as Uncle Sam would take him. He trained as a gunner in B-17s, but his aspirations were cut short by the ending of WWII. After earning a Bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College, he eagerly returned to the Air Force, this time as a First Lieutenant at the start of the Korean War. The war ended and Bill again halted his Air Force career. The skies kept calling though and he joined the Air Force for the third time, eventually accumulating 9,000 hours of flight time, a Master Navigator’s rating, and many amazing flying stories. His favorite story, though, was of a party with the Air Force nurses, one of whom knocked him for a loop the moment he first saw her. Bill commuted from Houston, Texas (his home base) to Montgomery, Alabama (her home base) every weekend until finally, on the third proposal, Mary said “Yes”. In 1954, Bill married the love of his life.
Bill’s Air Force career took him and his family abroad to many interesting places, not least of which was Thailand, where he spent two years as Chief of Protocol during the height of the Vietnam War. This turned out to be a fabulous gig, as it involved meeting everyone who was anyone who passed through Thailand. Bill had to keep several mess dress uniforms ready to go at all times, and Mary never tired of donning Thai silk gowns for formal dinners with the King and Queen, and whichever dignitary was in town.
The Air Force sent Bill to Colorado Springs in 1969, where, with thirty years’ service, he retired at the tender age of 49. There was much golf to be played, of course, but before long, Bill reevaluated his priorities; he was first and foremost a loving husband and wonderful father, but he wasn’t about to sit idle. He joined the Rotary Club, where he was a Paul Harris Fellow for the next few decades. He started his own software company, before most people had heard of the term “software”. Then, one fateful day when walking to the mailbox, he realized he was out of breath. That was the day the cigars went in the trash and the running started. Bill had competed in intercollegiate track, and running was in his blood. He joined the Pikes Peak Road Runners and remained an active member well into his eighties. The year he turned 60, after having run who knows how many 10Ks and Pike’s Peak marathons, Bill qualified for the Boston Marathon, completing the race in just over four hours.
Bill will be greatly missed…
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, February 12, from 2:00 to 3:00 PM at the Swan Law Funeral Home, 501 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs, followed by a memorial service.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18