Harriet Virginia Hancock Bennett

Harriet Virginia Hancock Bennett, 90, of Daleville, Va., went to be with the Lord on Saturday evening, April 10, 2010. Virginia was born in Switz City, Ind., to Robert and Corlena Hancock on July 14, 1919. Virginia displayed an early talent in piano, playing at church as well as school functions and giving lessons in her small town. Following high school graduation, she completed beauty school and worked as a beautician in Indianapolis and Scottsburg, Ind. In 1943 Virginia married John Wesley Bennett of Scottsburg while he was on leave from serving in the Pacific with the United States Navy. Following World War II, they relocated with their young family to the state of Virginia, first in Bristol, then Lynchburg and later in Annandale near Washington, D.C., where she resided for 41 years. She moved to Daleville retirement community, The Glebe, in 2006. Virginia discovered her talent in art studying at the Fine Arts Center in Lynchburg and with artist, John Young, in northern Virginia. She worked extensively in acrylics, oils, pastels, and pencil. She worked as a portrait painter on consignment for art galleries and displayed and sold her work in shows and businesses in the D.C. area. Virginia was invited to be a certified copyist at the National Gallery of Art. Possessing a remarkable memory, Virginia had many vivid recollections of her life going back to childhood. She could tell detailed stories painting a picture of what life was like growing up on an Indiana farm in the 1920s. She is survived by three children, Terry Bennett and his wife, Katherine, of Herndon, Va., Russell Bennett and his wife, Michele, of Troutville, Va., and Barbara Wright and her husband, Dan, of Orlando, Fla. Also surviving are four grandsons, Andrew Bennett, 2nd Lt. Patrick Bennett, USAF, Chris Bennett and Evan Riddle; two brothers, Wayne Hancock and John Hancock; and nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her husband, John W. Bennett; sisters, Eugenia Tribby and Marie Neidringhaus; brother, Robert Hancock; and her parents. Services will be held 7 p.m. on Friday, April 16, 2010, at the Rader Funeral Home in Daleville. Inurnment will be held 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2010, at Arlington National Cemetery with her husband, John. Arrangements by Rader Funeral Home, Daleville, Va.