Obituary: Charles "Chuck" Bennett

Charles "Chuck" Bennett, age 88, died April 18, 2011. Charles was born on Aug. 12, 1922, to Charles B. Bennett and Martha Gibbons Bennett. He was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He entered the Army Air Corps in 1942, becoming a radio operator and gunner on a B-24 Liberator. On April 8, 1944, his crew was shot down on their first mission over Germany. They were captured and eventually interred in Stalag Luft 17B in Krems, Austria. This was the prison camp made famous by the stage play "Stalag 17," later made into a movie starring William Holden. Exactly one year later the entire camp was marched some 200 miles across Austria, ending with an encampment along the Inns River near Breneau, Austria, where they were liberated by Patton's army. Chuck weighed just 90 pounds at the time. He was the recipient of several medals, most notably the Purple Heart.

After his release from military service, he returned to engineering studies at the University of Cincinnati where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering.

He began his engineering career at Boeing in Seattle, Wash., but moved to the warmer climate of southern California where he worked for several different aerospace companies, finally retiring from Lockheed Aircraft in 1985.

He and his second wife, Patricia, met at Lockheed and were married for 36 years. They moved to Prescott with their two youngest children in 1989. They have loved calling Prescott home.

Chuck was predeceased by his sister, Phyllis deAlva, and his son, Roger Bennett. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Bennett; children, Greg Bennett, Doug Bennett, Tim Bennett, Jessica Stevens and Jason Bennett; grandchildren, Brady Bennett, Cassie Bennett-Schmitt, Roger Bennett-Corral, John Corral, Christian Curtis, Noah Curtis, Aiden Stevens, Samuel Bennett and Brady Bennett, Jr.; sister, Joan Sperber; and brother, James Bennett.

Chuck loved his wife, children and extended family so very much. He was a quiet man who loved reading and learning from many sources. In his stronger years, he enjoyed backpacking the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Grand Canyon after moving to Arizona. He will be truly and deeply missed.

Services for Chuck will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 22, 2011, at the Prescott VA Chapel, 500 N. Highway 89, Prescott, Ariz.

Hampton Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements. Please visit www.hamptonfuneralhome.com to visit and sign the online guestbook.

Information provided by survivors.


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