Paul H. Bennett

PAUL H. BENNETT was born in Cleveland, OH., on Oct. 4, 1915. He attended the Cleveland Public Schools through the sixth grade. In 1929 his family moved to Rocky River, where he attended both junior and senior high school, graduating from Rocky River High School in 1934. During high school he held various summer jobs, and in the summer of 1933 he was part of a group which spent ten weeks in Europe visiting eight different counties. In 1934, he enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University. Active in campus activities, he was business manager of the college yearbook, member of the student council, and elected a representative man in his senior year. An active member of Phi Delta Theta, a social fraternity, he served as President of its chapter in his senior year as well as social and membership chairman. Upon graduation from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH., in 1938, with a B.A. Degree in Business Administration, he joined the Dobeckmun Co. in Cleveland as an inside salesman. In March of 1942 he joined the United States Coast Guard as an apprentice seaman. He served over a year on the U.S.S. Mojave on convoy and anti-submarine patrol between Boston, Greenland and Iceland. After a year at Coast Guard Headquarters in Boston, he was assigned to duty in Ketchikan, AK. Awarded the American; European-African-Middle Eastern (with gold star); Asiatic-Pacific Area; and Good Conduct medals, Bennett was discharged from the Coast Guard in November of 1945. Within ten days he returned to the position he had prior to the war with the Dobeckmun Co., in Cleveland, OH. After six months of special assignment duties in Cleveland, he was transferred on July 31, 1946 to Philadelphia, PA., as a sales representative of Dobeckmun in that area, traveling Pennsylvania, Maryland and the District of Columbia. It was in Philadelphia that he met and married Sarah Isabel Neff on Nov. 1, 1947 at Valley Forge Chapel in Valley Forge, PA. In 1952 the Bennett's were transferred to Atlanta, GA., where he became Sales Manager of Dobeckmun's Southern Division. This new territory included all of the Southern states from Louisiana to Virginia and the Republic of Cuba. In Atlanta he was a member of Ansley Golf Club, the Sales Executive Club of Atlanta and the Southern Bakers and Paper Associations. Dobeckmun, like other companies, saw considerable growth in the 50's and Bennett was asked to return in 1956 to Cleveland as Manager of Sales Training and Sales Selection. In 1957, Dobeckmun was merged with the Dow Chemical Co., and Bennett continued his work in Sales Training. 1960 saw a change and he was made Assistant General Sales Manager of the Dobeckmun Division of the Dow Chemical Co. In 1963 Bennett left the Marketing Department of Dow and joined the manufacturing operations in Cleveland, OH. Here he held positions as Personnel Manager and Industrial Relations Manager of the Packaging Division before joining Dow's Eastern and Central Divisions, from which he retired as Personnel Manager on Jan. 31, 1979. In addition to his work responsibilities, Bennett found time to serve as a Group Captain with the United Appeal Drive for several years in Cleveland and with the Boy Scouts. He was also associated with Jr. Achievement, A.I.M., and other minority programs in the Cleveland area. He has been a member of the National Society of Sales Training Executives, American Society of Personnel Administration, and a trustee of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Active in civic affairs he served on numerous committees for better government in Rocky River. A life-long member of Pilgrim Congregational Church, he has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Financial Chairman, and head of various fund-raising drives. Bennett and his wife, Sally, who founded Composer's Show Case in Cleveland and also headed the Big Bank Hall of Fame (which is located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.) have been associated with various civic and cultural projects and at one time were active in the Cleveland Orchestra, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Association, the Cleveland Women's Orchestra, the Cleveland Playhouse and Playhouse Square Association. He was an active member of the Cleveland Yachting Club, the Masons and the Mid-Day Club. Both he and his wife are listed in the Cleveland Blue Book and the National Social Register. The Bennett's, long time residents of Rocky River, Lakewood, OH., and Palm Beach, FL. He was a member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Valley of Lake Worth-Orient of Florida, was a 32 Degree Mason and he belongs to the Amara Shrine Temple in Palm Beach Gardens. Active in the Boynton Beach Shrine Club he served as their Secretary in 1985 and their President in 1987. As a member of the Palm Beach County Alumni Club of Phi Delta Theta, his college fraternity, he has held several offices and served as their President in 1986. In 1988 he volunteered to serve as a Docent for the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, FL., and after eight weeks of extensive training was graduated and qualified to serve in this capacity. Although active in the Palm Beach Civic Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and other Civic Organizations, he took time out to serve 18 months on the Federal Grand Jury during 1989 and 1990. Mr. Bennett passed away on Oct. 10, 2010. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 at Lakewood Park Cemetery, 22025 Detroit Rd., Rocky River, Ohio.