J. Gordon Bennett

J. GORDON BENNETT - age 88, former White House staffer during the Eisenhower Administration and a resident of Old Greenwich since 1960, died February 24 in Stamford, CT. The cause of death was a stroke according to his daughter, Kathleen Bastis of Old Greenwich.

Born in Somerville, Mass in 1918, he was the son of James Gordon and Daisy S. Bennett. Mr. Bennett graduated from Mount Hermon School and Oberlin College. He became a Naval Aviation Cadet in June of 1941 and spent the next four and a half years as a Navy Pilot in the Caribbean, North Atlantic, Europe and Africa. He also served as a liaison officer with the Free French PBY squadron which had escaped from North Africa. He retired from the Naval Reserve as a Lt. Commander.

After WWII he flew for TWA and later was part owner and chief pilot for Willis Air Service, a non-scheduled cargo plane owned and operated by ex-Navy, Marine and Air Force pilots out of Teterboro Airport, then a grass field. They flew cargo, passengers and cattle throughout the Caribbean, US, South America and Europe.

In 1948 he joined the old Civil Aeronautics Administration International Division and in 1952 was posted to the American Embassy in Paris. His tour was cut short by a transfer back to Washington in 1952 where he served as Aviation Assistant to the Under Secretary of Commerce for transportation.

In 1955 he became Staff Director of a White House special project established by President Eisenhower to determine the US long-range aviation needs and how to meet them. At this state of US civil and military aviation development, U.S. commercial aviation was on the brink of the jet age, a growing commercial use of helicopters, and a burgeoning private aviation industry. It was feared that U.S. aviation facilities (airports, air traffic control and communications) were unprepared to cope with the growing demands. This three-year effort led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency in 1958. While at the White House he headed a team of experts responsible for the selection and purchase of the site for what became Dulles International Airport.

After serving as a Special Assistant to the first FAA Administrator, Pete Quesada, he joined American Airlines in 1960 and served as Assistant Vice President for Schedule Development. He rejoined the FAA in 1971 and was posted to their office in London and Brussels where he represented U.S. Civil aviation interests in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. After seven years abroad he returned to the FAA regional office at J.F.K. International Airport as head of the regional planning office.

Following retirement in 1982 he launched a new career in residential real estate with companies that have now evolved into Prudential Connecticut Realty where he earned awards as one of their top producers. While residing in Old Greenwich he served three terms on the RTM and as aviation advisor to 3 selectman.

Along with others from Greenwich he helped build a community center on East 100th Street in Harlem. With his wife Helen he founded the Tomac Cove Preservation Association and established a memorial plaque at the town dock at the head of Tomac Cove.

He is survived by his wife Helen of 61 years, a son Stuart of Charlotte, VT, a daughter Kathleen Bastis of Old Greenwich and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother Stuart, a P-38 fighter pilot killed near Palermo, Sicily in WWII.

A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich on March 8 at 1:00 p.m. A private burial will be at the family plot at Greenlawn Cemetery in Nahant, Mass.

In lieu of flowers a memorial donation may be made to The Perrot Memorial Library, 90 Sound Beach Avenue, Old Greenwich, CT 06870.