Funeral services and Mass of Christian Burial for Maurice A. Bennett, 94, a resident of Davenport, will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 417 Main St. Davenport.
Burial will be Valley Isle Memorial Park, Maui, Hawaii.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the time of the service at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.
Maurice died March 17, 2012 at Good Samaritan Nursing Home, Davenport.
Maurice August Bennett was born October 11, 1917 in Davenport, the son of Maurice Ashton and Wilhelmina (Mangles) Bennett. He graduated from the original Davenport High School at the height of the Great Depression. He went to work in the CCC camps, building levees along the Mississippi River, until he became employed at French & Hecht where he made tractor wheels. He also worked at the Rock Island Arsenal while still helping on the family farm in the Blue Grass area.
When the United States entered World War II, Maurice enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served in anti-submarine warfare. He was responsible for developing a system of rocketry for patrol planes that broke the stranglehold that the German subs had on our shipping in the Atlantic.
Maurice married Dorothy Jean Kehoe on July 4, 1945 in Davenport and was discharged from the Navy in November of 1945. Coming home, they farmed 40 acres in what is now the center of Scott County Park. He was also employed at Alcoa as a pipefitter and later as a maintenance supervisor for 30 years. Maurice and Dorothy traveled extensively. They planned to retire to Hawaii, but she died November 2, 1979, just 2 months before he retired. Maurice later married Jean Mohr in September of 1984. They traveled worldwide and showed their many trips as slide shows to nursing homes and other organizations. They were also busy volunteering in many activities, including the “Listen to Read” for young schoolchildren, the Blood Center, RSVP Children’s Festivals and 4-H work. Jean preceded Maurice in death February 11, 2005.
Photography, stamp collecting, gardening, reading, dancing, hiking and working with tools were a few of Maurice’s hobbies. He liked to share his garden produce with other people. He was a member of St. Anthony Catholic Church, Blackhawk Hiking Club, the German American Heritage Center, and the Putnam Museum. He was a charter member of the Davenport Kiwanis Golden K Club. His other memberships included the Quad City Stamp Club, the Davenport Moose Club, Scott County Preservation Society, Society for the Preservation of Old Mills, Society for the Preservation of Lighthouses, Preservation of Williamsburg, Friends of Gelvin Arts, The Friendship Force, The Schleswig Holstein Society and he was a photographer for the American Image Press.
Memorials may be made to the Moose charity or charity of your choice.
Surviving Maurice are his brothers, Ralph (Doris) Bennett and William (Mary) Bennett, both of Davenport; his nieces and nephews; step-daughters, Jennifer (Rick) Lofgren of Barrington, Illinois, Nina (Brian) Looney, Davenport; step-son, Kent Mohr, Alexis, Illinois; 5 step-grandchildren and 2 step-great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife Dorothy in 1979, his second wife, Jean in 2005, and a brother, John Bennett.
Online remembrances and condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting Maurice’s obituary at www.hmdfuneralhome.com.
