Ford “Rollie” Bennett

Ford “Rollie” Bennett, 72, of Lind, died unexpectedly in his own home on Sept. 24.

The funeral service will be held Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Fairfield Idaho Legion Hall. Burial will be at the Hill City Cemetery, followed by a gathering and celebration of life in Hill City, Idaho.

Rollie was born in Yerington, Nevada, on May 8, 1944. He was raised on the Camas Prairie and attended his elementary school years at the County Line School in Hill City, which was built by his grandfather, Nels Malcolmson.

The remainder of his school years was spent in Wendell, Idaho, with summers returning to the “Ranch” in Hill City.

Rollie graduated from Wendell High School in 1962, and continued on to Idaho State University where he met and married Nance (Bell) Strickland in 1965.

Together they had three children, Angela, Jade and Blake. They were later divorced in 1993.

In 1995, he married Rose Meyers and helped raise KC Davis. They divorced in 2007.

Rollie started his career working for the AEC Project in Idaho Falls, followed by a job in California that involved creating radioactive isotopes that were used in various experiments, often for cancer treatments.

After leaving the lab, Rollie became involved with the Rainbow sales group, working his way up to management and eventually moving to Boise to open up new franchises for Rainbow Enterprises.

In 1981, Rollie moved his family home to the “Ranch” in Hill City. In 1983, he successfully ran for public office and became the Camas County Clerk. After serving for 28 years as the county clerk, Rollie retired in 2011 and moved to Lind.

Rollie is survived by his three children, Angela (Tim) Schultz of Harrison, Idaho, Jade (Dena) Bennett of Cedar Valley, Utah, and Blake (Janet) Bennett of Lind. In addition, he was blessed with seven grandchildren: Andrea, Ellison, Jessica, Colson, Jenna, Devan and Dayten. He is also survived by siblings, Jack (Jeanne) Bennett, Nels Bennett, Christy Bennett, Pat (Vickie) Bennett and many friends who loved him in both Idaho and Washington.

Rollie is preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Emma (Malcolmson) Bennett and sister Dina (Bob) Smith.

Rollie was known as a man of intelligence, wit and honesty. He worked hard and simply loved his family, friends and having a good time.