Ronald William Bennett

Ronald William Bennett, age 86, formerly of Emmitsburg, MD, died at Sunrise Assisted Living in Frederick. Ron was born in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 1937.  He was the youngest of six children born to the late Edward Lee and Addie Blanche Bennett.  He was the loving husband of Vernelia Clydell “Verne” Bennett, who died in 2021.

Ron loved sports and was quite an athlete himself.  He led his school basketball team to many championships and was one of the first inductees to the Gonzaga High School Sports Hall of Fame.  While in school he made the All-Metropolitan teams in Basketball, Baseball, and Football which led to his full scholarship to Georgetown University.  After playing basketball his freshman year at Georgetown, he entered the US Army where he joined the 101 Division, as a paratrooper for the Screaming Eagles.  While in the Army, he also played basketball for Fort Campbell Kentucky.  After the military, he continued his love of sports, but mostly as a spectator for the Washington Redskins.

Ron loved his family and adored his grand and great-grandchildren. He would always make sure that he had a candy jar filled with his great grandchildren’s favorites. That same candy jar was also there for his nurses whom he loved to joke with. Ron also had a love for animals and was thought by his family as a modern St. Francis.  He took care of strays, adopted whatever animals were brought into his home and treated them with love and respect.  His latest addition was a cat named Billy who has mourned his absence since he moved to assisted living. He was a gentle man of few words. His granddaughter wrote that he lived by “being humble and let results speak for themselves.”

Ron was a life long Catholic and was a member of St. Joseph parish in Emmitsburg.

Surviving are his children, Tammy Denning and husband Bill of Woodsboro, Mickie Bennett of Emmitsburg, and Todd Bennett and wife Sasha of Lewes, DE; son-in-law, Rich Bove of Fairfield, PA; grandchildren, Kayti Gamer, Sarah Tabor and husband Ren, Zack Bennett, Ben Denning and wife Barbara, Mary Cait Denning, Sam Bennett, Anna Denning, and Max Bennett; great-grandchildren, Olivia, Adelayde, Liam, Charlotte, Everett, Veronica, and Joseph. Ron also has one surviving sibling, Dorothy MacGregor, of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Ron is predeceased by his wife Vernelia and her parents, Sue and Clyde Vinson, whom he loved and honored.  He is also predeceased by his daughter, Phyllis Bove, and son, Ronald Bennett, Jr.

He is remembered by his sister-in- law, Joyce Vinson, as well as friends, Mike and Roy Gamer, and his dear childhood friend, Lawrence Smith.