Raymond Bennett
Marriages
Elizabeth "Betty" Bennett - July 14, 1944
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - January 20, 2008
Former Steamboat Springs resident Raymond Bennett died Jan. 11, 2008, in Bend, Ore. He was 92.
Ray was born Nov. 5, 1915, in Condon, Ore. He attended Willamette University and graduated from Oregon State University in 1937. Ray began working for the U.S. Forest Service in 1938. Ray served in the U.S. Marines during World War II, in the South Pacific and at the Naval Research Station in Washington, D.C.
Ray and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) married July 14, 1944, and they relocated to Steamboat Springs, where Ray served as an elk hunting guide in the Rocky Mountains.
The Bennetts moved to Bend, Ore., in 1959, where Ray served as a liaison between the U.S. Forest Service and Mount Bachelor. He also taught part-time at Central Oregon Community College. Ray retired from the Forest Service in 1972 and became a Deschutes County assessor in 1976.
During his life, Ray was affiliated with Kiwanis International, Steamboat Springs School Board, Toastmasters Club, Deschutes County Historical Society, Rim Rock Riders, Riders of the Rockies, Bend Planning Commission, Skyliners Ski Club, Mount Bachelor Ski Patrol, Partners of Pilot Butte, and Heritage Tree Walk. Ray was afforded the 1st Hixon Award by his local Kiwanis club in Oregon.
He enjoyed trail riding, training horses, and volunteering for a crisis hotline and as a reader at Lava Ridge Elementary School in Bend.
He is survived by his son Terence Bennett of Yakima, Wash.; and three daughters, Janice Wood of Libby, Mont.; Lucinda Summerfield of Redmond, Ore.; and Jill Bennett of Bend, Ore. Ray had six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in by his wife; his parents; and his brother Harold.
A memorial service was held Jan. 17, 2008, in Bend, Ore. Arrangements by the Niswonger-Reynolds Funeral Home in Bend. Donations may be made to the Kiwanis Parks Program, c/o Community First Bank in Bend, Ore.
