Obituary of Walter Bennett

Walter E. Bennett, a lifelong resident of Burlington, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, March 12 after spending his day doing what he loved most – working around his home. Walter would have celebrated his 80th birthday in April. Walter was born in the family farmhouse in Burlington. He was one of five children born to the late Joshua and Mary Bennett. His family owned quite a bit of farm land in the center of Burlington. As a young man Walter grew up working on his dad’s dairy and vegetable farm. He was a 1954 graduate of Burlington High School. He and Dotty married in 1961. They were married 54 years. Walter started his career logging. Armed with a chainsaw, he cleared land for farming, development, or reforestation. Then he went to work for over 30 years at Burlington Loam with his friend, Mike Connors. He did sewerage connections, excavation, delivered aggregate, and plowed in the winters. It was a job he loved and where he made lifelong friendships. Walter was an outdoorsman and enjoyed doing anything where he could be outside. He had a huge garden in his yard. For 22 years Walter and Dotty would spend many special times together at their log cabin in Stow Maine which was located on 10 acres of land. He loved to putter around the yard, chopping firewood, tending to his garden, and fish pond, or taking care of his honey do list. He was a talented craftsman and a born engineer. He would take a problem, ponder it, and come up with a solution. There wasn’t a project that Walter wouldn’t tackle whether it was working on an addition to a home, repairing furniture, or working on a yard project. He was also an avid reader and had ferocious thirst for knowledge. Walter will be remembered as a “Quiet Man” who had great love for his wife and his family, enjoyed hard work, and was very humble in his mannerisms. Walter was the beloved husband of 54 years of Dorothy “Dotty” (Atkinson) Bennett. He was the loving father of Michael Reardon & his wife Sheila of Bethel, ME. He was the son of the late Joshua and Mary (Duncan) Bennett and brother of John Bennett & his wife Cheryl of Ellenton, FL, Alice Rodrigues of Burlington & her late husband Roger, the late Joshua Bennett & his late wife Lucy, the late Mary McGinn & her husband Paul of Burlington and the late William Neilsen. He was the nephew of Eleanor Lloyd and June Ryan both of Burlington. Walter was also survived by many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews. Funeral Services will be held at the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Friday, March 18 at 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Visiting hours Thursday 4-8 p.m. Memorials in Walter’s name may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105