Roger Edwin Bennett

Following a brief illness, Roger Bennett (Dr. B.) passed January 12, 2019 at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, FL.  Bennett, serving his 8th term as Mayor of Briny Breezes, FL is survived by his wife, Barbara (Johnson), daughter and son-in-law Jo Bennett and Jay Kelley of Ocean Ridge, FL and son and partner, Roger Bennett II and Takahiro Oda of Cologne, Germany, and Lake Worth, FL.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Eva Gayle and George Russell Bennett of Portsmouth, OH and a sister, Betty Irene (Robert) Stump of Cincinnati and Harlingen, TX.  Everyone he met was endeared for life.

Bennett was a five-year Korean War Veteran.  After his discharge he was city hall reporter at his hometown newspaper where he met his wife who was the society editor. With her support he was graduated from Ohio University with Bachelor and Master degrees and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.  After several years teaching at Ohio University, he became chairman of the Communications department at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX, where he served 23 years and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1995.  While at Ohio University he was honored as Professor of the Year, his specialty was teaching Reporting, Communication Law and The First Amendment.

Following retirement, he taught at Florida Atlantic University and for two semesters (2001 and 2007) on Semester at Sea, a ship-bound university through The University of Pittsburg and University of Virginia, respectively.  Semester at Sea afforded the Bennetts the opportunity to sail twice around the world with more than 400 students plus faculty. The only continent they did not visit was Antarctica and over his life he had the opportunity to visit more than 100 countries. Dr. B. also traveled to Poland for a semester teaching in an exchange program at the University of Silesia in Katowice.

Roger was a loving husband and proud father who adored all living things. The house was always open to friends, family and former students. To celebrate his life the family will have a story-telling party on the beach at Briny Breezes at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Semester at Sea (https://www.semesteratsea.org/giving/ or by phone at 800-854-0195) so those less fortunate will have the opportunity to study while sailing the seven seas.