Irene Ruth Bennett

Irene Ruth Bennett was born in Reardan on March 15, 1928. She was the eighth of nine children born to Henry and Anna Mann and grew up on a wheat farm north of Reardan.

She graduated from high school in 1946 and enrolled at Eastern Washington College of Education in Cheney, where she met Bill Bennett, whom she married in 1947.

After graduation, Irene taught for one year in Brewster before returning to Spokane to teach at Hutton Elementary School. The family moved to Yakima, Medford, Ephrata and then to Salem, where Bill and Irene resided for 38 years.

In 2000 Irene and Bill moved to Ritzville to be close to their daughter Rena and her family.

Surrounded by family, she died of natural causes in the home of her son Byrne, on March 26 at age 88.

Irene was preceded in death by her husband Bernard (Bill) Bennett, to whom she was married 63 years, and daughter Marla Bennett, who shared her birthday and passed away just 13 days earlier. She is survived by her sister Helen Halverson of Seattle; daughters, Rena (Dale) Brown and Janna Bennett of Ritzville; and sons, Byrne (Denise) Bennett of Medical Lake, and Linh (Tami) Bennett of East Wenatchee. She is also survived by granddaughters JuliAnne Brimmer, Darcy Brown, Amy McCaddon and Lindy Brown Swanger; and grandsons Laif McCaddon and Micah Brown.

Irene was a woman of grace and dignity. If you entered her heart as a friend, you were grafted into her family and received her blessing of love and hospitality. Irene loved her Lord Jesus and shared her faith with her family and friends. When struggling with physical challenges she never complained, but rather encouraged others with her sense of humor and positive attitude.

A lifelong artist, Irene loved to sketch, draw, sculpt and paint. Her artistic eye was evident in the manner in which she decorated her home. She was a wordsmith with an uncanny ability to write clever limericks and poems.

At special gatherings it was common for Irene to produce a thoughtfully crafted poem to read to the honoree. She encouraged her children in their creative pursuits and cheered each one as they shared their talents during the family’s annual Christmas Eve program.

Irene loved to travel and treasured each of her eight visits to The Netherlands, where she, along with Dutch citizens, honored her brother, Medal of Honor recipient Joe E. Mann.

A celebration of her life will be held at 1 p.m. on April 15 at Ritzville Church of the Nazarene, 108 West Fourth Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Spokane and Gideon’s International.