Peggy Regl Bennett

A true friend to all who ever knew her, Peggy Regl Bennett, 93, of Starkville and

Hattiesburg, Mississippi, died peacefully on her own terms March 5, 2026.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

Born Peggy Ann Dent in Macon, Georgia, in 1933, she was the second child of the

late Oscar Ray Dent and Nina Mae Dent (nee Cowan). Ray was a skilled welder

and the family traveled north through Georgia and South Carolina as he followed

better opportunities. They finally settled in the Philadelphia suburb of Folsom,

Pennsylvania in 1937 – the place that would be Peggy's home for the next twenty-

three years.

Possessed of a keen intellect, clever wit and outgoing personality, Peggy always

made true and sincere friends easily. She attended Ridley Township High School

where those attributes placed her in everything from student government to theater

to cheerleading. She graduated RTHS with honors in 1951.

Though not yet sure of her path after graduation, Peggy embraced the greatest

lesson her Daddy taught her – that "you have to have a way to make your own

money, or you'll be forever beholden to some man!" Her Aunt offered to pay her

way through Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, but Peggy just wasn't

ready for that commitment. She would later express that decision as her only regret

in life. Never without an income, she worked as a full-time secretary and part-time

model in Philadelphia. Throughout the 1950's, she traveled whenever she could:

California, Williamsburg, New York City, Nassau, and to any beach as often as

possible. The beach was her true respite throughout her life – an enduring place of

supreme calm and joy that relaxed her body, eased her mind, and rejuvenated her

boundless spirit.

Her favorite Disney movie was the first one: Snow White. And its' song "Some

Day My Prince Will Come" played to her romantic notions of finding true love. In

the late 1950's, she worked as a secretary for Piasecki Helicoptor in Philadelphia.

Every summer and fall, a new crop of recently graduated engineers would arrive.

But in the fall of 1959, the new cadre included Bob Regl – a bright and idealistic

young engineer from across the river in Camden, New Jersey. Peggy and Bob had

passed pleasantries at the office a few times, but nothing more. Then, one October

morning, Peggy missed her ride to work and was walking toward a bus stop that

Bob was driving past. Recognizing her from the office, he pulled over to offer her a

ride to work. She accepted and soon afterward realized that someday was now –

and her prince had come indeed. They married in February 1960, and son John was

born in May 1961. Peggy and Bob would share the adventures of a lifetime

together, camping and traveling throughout the country and cruising around the

world for the next five decades.

They moved to Champaign, Illinois in 1967 and then to Starkville in 1970. Peggy

earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education at MSU. For the rest of her

career, she was always a favorite among her students and colleagues alike. She

taught in the Starkville public schools until she, Bob and John moved to New

Orleans in the summer of 1980. Peggy continued her career as a professional

educator, teaching at a Lutheran school in Metairie, Louisiana before taking a

public teaching position with the St. Charles Parish School District.

In 1986, Bob's aerospace work took him and Peggy to Brigham City, Utah – a

return to the picturesque west they had traveled so extensively in the 1960's and

never forgotten. The magic of it was still there and they reveled in the adventure of

it again. Peggy continued as an educator and educational psychometrist for the

Weber School District in nearby Ogden until her retirement. It was in that role she

found her greatest professional joy and satisfaction, as well as some of her highest

professional accolades and recognition.

Throughout their life together, Peggy and Bob were active in their home churches

around the country, including Good Shepherd Lutheran in Champaign, St. Luke

Lutheran in Starkville, St. John Lutheran in New Orleans, Holy Cross Lutheran in

Brigham City, and The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Hattiesburg.

Peggy and Bob retired to Hattiesburg in 2000 to be closer to John and his family

and to be nearer to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast beaches of Florida and

Alabama – the site of so many happy times, special moments, and favorite

restaurants. They traveled and cruised as extensively as they could until Bob's

declining health made it impossible. Peggy lovingly cared for him and made him

as comfortable as possible during those three most difficult years of his life before

his death in 2015. After a couple of days attending to necessary details, she went

where she knew she could find solace and respite: the beach. Everyone understood

completely – she had certainly earned it.

Yet Peggy's adventures were far from over and she found love again with George

Bennett – a recently-widowed family friend from their Illinois and MSU days. The

Regls and Bennetts had remained family friends long after MSU. Peggy and

George began seeing each other in late 2015.

In 2016, granddaughter Erica moved in with Peggy while attending medical school

in Hattiesburg. It was a magical time with the daily comings and goings of Erica

and her friends – and the Hattiesburg house was more fully alive than ever. Peggy

loved the bustle and energy of the young 20-somethings regularly buzzing about

her home. And they all loved her and included her in the goings on.

Peggy and George married in August 2017, dancing to the theme song of their

relationship: Tony Bennett's "Second Time Around." They found a second church

home together in Starkville's Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. And for the

rest of Peggy's long life, they shared trips to the beach and Chicago and anywhere

else they could in their surprising time together – their lucky second time around.

Peggy stayed in touch with friends old and new throughout her life, and they with

her. She valued each friendship individually and thrilled to the news of what was

happening in their lives. The cruel trade-off of such a long life as hers was the

heartache of outliving so many of them. But she always countered that the joys of

the friendships far exceeded the pains of the losses.

Peggy was preceded in death by her parents; parents-in-law, Stephen Regl, Jr. and

wife Grace Ethel (nee Krumm) of Bellmawr, NJ; step-mother Pearl Emma Dent

(nee Paul) of Pottsville, PA; her husband of fifty-five years Dr. Robert Richard

Regl of Hattiesburg; brother Robert Ray Dent and wife Norma Ruth (nee Jones) of

Ridley Park, PA; brother-in-law Stephen Regl, III and wife Nancy Leona (nee

Bordeau) of Wake Forest, NC and Wenonah, NJ, respectively; nieces Mrs. Karen

Elizabeth Rohrer (nee Dent) of Ridley Park, PA and Ms. Donna Lee Regl of Wake

Forest, NC.

She is survived by her husband of eight years, Dr. Albert George Bennett, Jr. of

Starkville; son John Robert Regl and wife Elizabeth Helen (nee Cuccia) of

Columbus; stepdaughter Ms. Laurie Evelyn Bennett of Hernando, MS; stepson

George Robert Bennett and wife Lisa (nee Braby) of Savannah, GA; granddaughter

Dr. Erica Jane Regl Mullins and husband Dr. Jared Brett Hayden Mullins of

Chicago, IL; step-granddaughters Sara Harper Bennett, Laura McKay Bennett and

Hanna Claire Bennett of Savannah, GA; nephew Gary Ronald Dent and wife

Laurie (nee Ogilvie) of Media, PA; great-nephew Kevin Dent and his daughter

Hannah Dent of Media, PA; great nieces Ms. Tracy Dent of Philadelphia, PA and

Ms. Kelly Dent of New York, NY; and her great-grandson Emmett Hayden

Beckham Mullins of Chicago.