John Ward Bennett

John Ward Bennett, a resident of Fort Gaines, Ga., died early Thursday morning, June 29, 2006, in the Fort Gaines Nursing Home. He was 82.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. (E.D.T.) Saturday, July 1, in Fort Gaines Baptist Church with the Revs. Jeff Hines and Jim Bennett officiating. Graveside services, with military honors, will follow in the New Park Cemetery in Fort Gaines. The family will receive friends from 5 go 7 p.m. (C.D.T.) Friday at the mortuary in Abbeville. At other times, the family will be at the residence, 306 South Washington St., Fort Gaines.

Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Fort Gaines Baptist Church, P.O. Box 248, Ft. Gaines, GA 39851.

Mr. Bennett was a lifelong resident of Fort Gaines, son of the late James Thomas Bennett and Helen Louise Ward Bennett. He was a graduate of Fort Gaines High School and attended the University of Georgia. Mr. Bennett served his country during World War II in the U. S. Army Corps as the lead radar technician for the 381st Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.

Mr. Bennett was retired as the owner and operator of Clay Finance Company and also owned and operated the Dairy Freeze both in Fort Gaines. In earlier years, he was involved in ownership and management of various businesses including Bennett-Davis Hardware in Fort Gaines, Bennett Drive-In and the Archie Theater in Abbeville and the Goober Drive-In, near Dothan. Mr. Bennett served as mayor and city judge of Fort Gaines and as a city councilman for many years. While serving as mayor, he was instrumental in securing the Walter F. George Lock and Dam, a new Fort Gaines post office and the Clay County-Fort Gaines Hospital and Nursing Home. He was a co-founder and served on the Board of Directors of Southland Bank in Abbeville and also was a co-founder of the Abbeville Christian Academy. Mr. Bennett received a 50-year pin from the Washington Masonic Lodge No. 19 in Cuthbert, Ga. He was also a Shriner in Albany, Ga. He was a member of the Fort Gaines Baptist Church.

Mr. Bennett was preceded in death by a brother, James T. Bennett of Valdosta, Ga.

Surviving relatives include his wife, Betty Walker Bennett, Fort Gaines, Ga.; three daughters, Susan Lewis and her husband, Jim Lewis, Amory, Miss., Bess Hartley, Fort Gaines, Ga., Katie Bennett, Clarkesville, Ga.; a sister, Louise King and her husband, Ralph King, Decatur, Ga.; two brothers, Robert Bennett and his wife, Hilda Bennett, Jacksonville, Fla., Ben Bennett, Melbourne, Fla.; a sister-in-law, Mamie Bennett, Valdosta, Ga.; four grandchildren, Carolyn Hartley, Americus, Ga., Lori Hartley, Macon, Ga., Clayton Ward Bennett and Hunter B. Koski, both of Clarkesville, Ga.; several nieces and nephews.

Serving as active pallbearers will be Clayton Ward Bennett, Hunter B. Koski, Mike Bennett, Ben Bennett Jr., Roy Neves, Buck Bennett, Greg Bennett, David Money and Billy Lindsey.

Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Bo Chambers and Billy Peters and Honorable Gerald Green.

Holman-Abbeville Mortuary, (334) 585-5261, is in charge of arrangements. Sign the guestbook at www.dothaneagle.com.