William Joseph Bennett

with illness. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Shirl, stepsons David and Mark, daughter-in-law Lane,

grandsons John, Jacob, Chaz, Travis, cousins Richard and Gordon, and his beloved cat "Princess".

A resident of Karns, Tennessee for 10 years, Bill was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in January 1941 and also lived in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, San Francisco, California, and Winter Haven, Florida. Bill was a proud veteran of the 10th Marines, 2nd division, Marine Corps. during which time he served in Vietnam. After honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, Bill worked for the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller and retired from the FAA after 33 years of service. Bill enjoyed learning new things, interacting with people, and keeping busy. During his life, he established an azalea and rhododendron nursery on the farm in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, was a real estate agent, private auctioneer, private pilot, school bus driver, and worked for Disney World as a tourist boat driver. While living in California, he enjoyed volunteering as a docent at the Año Nuevo State Park where he gave tours of the Elephant Seal colony. He also enjoyed traveling with Shirl as they toured Alaska by boat and train and as full-time residents in an RV in which they traveled to Maine, Nova Scotia, and many national parks. Bill was especially proud of his many years of service in the Marine Corps and credited it for training his for a career in the FAA. In lieu of flowers, Bill would request that donations be made to the Disabled American Veterans charity, www.dav.org.

The family will meet for a Memorial Service on Friday, April 19, 2024, starting at 10am, at East Tennessee State Veteran's Cemetery, 2200 E Governor John Sevier Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37920.