Mary Lou Bennett

Mary Lou Bennett

October 4, 1933 - March 8, 2020

On March 8, 2020, Mary Lou Bennett died at her residence in Eugene, Oregon ending the long, lonely and heartbreaking journey that is Alzheimer's Disease. She was born October 4, 1933 in Nashville, Tennessee to William G. Snow, Jr. and Bess Bates-Snow.

After finishing high school, Mary Lou enrolled at Murray State College in Murray, Kentucky where she met fellow Theatre Arts major C.V. "Ben" Bennett; the two were married on June 1, 1954 in her hometown of Paris, Tennessee.

By 1959, Mary Lou and Ben were putting down roots in Corvallis, Oregon and assuming traditional roles in raising their three children. The turbulence of the 1960s solidified Mary Lou's convictions in support of the civil rights movement and in opposition to the war in Viet Nam. The self-awakening she was experiencing through the burgeoning women's movement and feminism gave rise and voice to these convictions with increasing clarity and confidence. Mary Lou's first stint in higher education had been a success by the standards for women in 1950s Kentucky: it had netted her a husband. By the early 1970s however, she had become completely frustrated by the work available to her, whose meagerness in pay was matched only by its paucity of satisfaction. And so she returned to student life and unfinished business, earning a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and then a master's degree in Counseling, both at Oregon State University.

In the years that followed, Mary Lou engaged herself in a variety of positions in various fields: she taught Interpersonal Communication and other classes in the Department of Speech Communications at OSU; directed the Turning Point Transitions Program at Linn-Benton Community College; offered private counseling specializing in grief management; taught courses in assertiveness training, poetry and free-form writing as well as tai chi.

Mary Lou authored numerous essays, articles and works of poetry that appeared in national publications as well as the Sunday sections of Pacific Northwest newspapers. In 1988 her mystery novel Murder Once Done was published and subsequently nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America, the Anthony Award and the international Macavity Award. She was a co-founder of the Valley Round and Readers' Theatres in Corvallis where she directed and performed in various productions.

Her husband Ben died in 2015. She is survived by a daughter April Bennett-Layton of Portland; sons David Bennett of Chico, California and Greg Bennett, most recently of Eugene; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Also surviving are her great passions held around and about her in the memories of friends and family: gardening and her beloved dahlias; her cats, most notably Honky and Fritters; the Oregon Coast; former students; any day that bore witness to the expansion of equality or justice achieved; and her sisters - the cherished members of her women's group.

The family wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers at Mary Lou's residence and to the staff of Sacred Heart Hospice - their daily endeavors are beyond belief and the very essence of care and compassion.

Suggestions for monetary remembrances would include Sacred Heart Hospice and the Alzheimer's Association. Non-monetary remembrances may best be expressed through random or premeditated acts of selflessness.