Louise Bennett Obituary
Louise Moultrie Bowen Bennett -FARMERS BRANCH, TX - Louise Moultrie Bowen Bennett died Saturday morning, March 5, 2011, in Farmers Branch, Texas. She was born in Macon, Georgia, on June 3, 1917, the daughter of Louise Margaret Napier and Orsamus Allan Bowen, also of Macon. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Waring Bennett, Sr. of Natchez, Mississippi, and her son-in-law, Kendall Steed of Farmers Branch, Texas. -She is survived by her sister and her husband, Elizabeth Walton Bowen Reichert and Albert P. Reichert of Macon, Georgia. She is also survived by her six children, Mathilde Bennett, of Roanke, Virginia, Major Thomas Waring (Buddy) Bennett, Missing in Action in North Vietnam, Jane Adger Bennett Skelton (Mack) of Greenville, Mississippi, Pat Bennett Steed of Farmers Branch, Texas, William Walter Bennett (Sonja) of Vandiver, Alabama, and Bowen Bennett Johnson (Jim), of Baldwin, Missouri. She is survived by her grandchildren, Allan Bennett and Culver Bennett of Roanoke, Virginia, Kathleen Louise Skelton Chomel of San Marcos, Texas, Mitchell Bennett Skelton, of Cleveland, Mississippi, Laura Steed Short of Pensacola, Florida, Clara Steed McDaniel, of Hamstead, North Carolina, and Aaron Kendall Steed, of Farmers Branch, Texas. She is also survived by her seven great grandchildren. -Louise was graduated from Miller High School in Macon, Georgia, in 1935, and from Randolph Macon Women's College, of Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1939, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Pilgrimage Garden Club, in Natchez. She had been a faithful member of the First Presbyterian Church in Macon, and later in Natchez, where she taught a Ladies Bible Circle for many, many years. -She and Waring were married on June 15, 1940, at the First Presbyterian Church in Macon. They lived in Macon until they moved to Natchez, Mississippi, in 1959, where Waring was affiliated with City Bank and Trust Company. Upon moving to Natchez, Louise was a substitute teacher for many years in the Natchez Public School System, a United States National Park Ranger on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and a wonderful guide for the Pilgrimage Garden Club historic tours. She was the first female National Park Ranger in Mississippi. -She was always the environmentalist, recycling as much as she could, which was a passion for her. She encouraged many people to become environmentalists before it was ever fashionable. Of this she was most proud. -Memorial services will be held in Natchez, Mississippi, at a later date. Louise will be buried beside her beloved husband at the Natchez National Cemetery.
Published by The Telegraph on Mar. 9, 2011.