Honeoye: Peacefully at home on October 10, 2017 at age 73 years. Predeceased by siblings; Frederick Bennett Jr., Constance Baldwin, Charlotte Rowell, and best friend Peter Rawson. Survived by his wife of 51 years, Linda (Baker) Bennett of Honeoye and sons; Frederick (Becky) Bennett of FL and Keith Bennett of PA. Also survived by grandchildren; Amethyst, Rayzel, Ian, Gerik, Hannah, and Drew; close friends Dan DeRosa and Steve Rosenberger, and many nieces & nephews.
Don Bennett, age 73 & 30 year resident on Honeoye Lake, succombed after 6 years of fighting cancer. He was dedicated to his family, friends, church, he was a worldly traveler, an avid fisherman and contributor to the community. He was known by all for his boisterous laughter and larger than life personality! He is missed already!
Friends may call on Friday, October 27th, from 5-7pm at the Kevin W. Dougherty Funeral Home Inc., 8624 Main Street, Rte 20A, Honeoye, NY. Don’s Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 28th, at 1pm at the Honeoye United Church of Christ, 8758 Main Street, Honeoye, NY 14471. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Honeoye United Church of Christ at the address above, Ontario-Yates Hospice, 759 Pre-Emption Road, Geneva, NY 14456, the Nature Conservancy of Central and Western New York, 1048 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14607 or the Honeoye Valley Association, PO Box 165, Honeoye, NY 14471. To send a condolence or share a memory please visit: www.doughertyfuneralhomes.com
I was so sad to hear about Don’s passing. I also worked with Don at Mobil Chemical on the DMS project. Don, to me, was not only a mentor and friend but filled in as a father image to me at times. I remember many stories, don’t worry I’m not going to recite them all, one in particular when my husband Art called to find out what time I was going to be home, another 24 hour day testing the DMS system, and he said – oh ok no worries if you’re with Don! Don will be forever in my heart. Linda, please us know if there is anything we can do for you.
It was sad to hear about Don’s passing. As with others, I worked with Don at Mobil Chemical on DMS. During that time I got to know Don as a leader and friend to many. He brought out the best in people and will be a loss for those close to him. He will be greatly missed. God Bless…
Linda – Betty and Dan wish to convey our most sincere condolences for your loss of Don. We shall always remember his friendly smile and laugh and shall miss him always.
Linda – Betty and Dan want to wish you our sincere condolences. Don was a good friend of ours and shall always be remembered for his smile and his sincere and happy go lucky attitude. We shall miss him and send you our love.
Don was dad’s college roommate at RPI, and they remained close all their lives. I loved hearing them tell stories about their escapades in school, and tease each other. Don called dad “UA” for “Ugly A**”! We had so many wonderful family trips with the Bennetts. I saw my first tarantula at Don and Linda’s home in Oklahoma. We visited their place in New York and Don of course took us fishing. And then we had fish for breakfast, which was delicious and unusual. Scuba trips, houseboating at Lake Powell, wine tasting trips in the Finger Lakes area, were all adventures for our two families. It felt as if Don was my dad’s brother, I recall seeing Don much more often! He was like an uncle to us, and I am sad to lose this connection to my father and his youth. Linda, Keith and Fred, our thoughts are with you and we regret your loss.
We are sending Heartfelt Sympathy and Love to all of you!! So many great memories! Thankful for everyone of them! Rachael and Greg sending their Love also. RIP Stud Muffin! XOXO
We are very sorry for your loss, Linda. Or should I say all of our loss. You and Don have been great friends since I’ve joined the NETFC and I’ve looked forward to seeing you at each rally. Don will be sorely missed and I hope you will continue to attend our outings. You have many good friends with the group, and friends are what make life worth living. If you believe as I do, Don is in a better place now and still making folks laugh. He will be greatly missed but we will all meet again.
Don was my partner at Mobil Chemical for 6 years as he and I worked to design and implement a system called DMS. He was the brains and key designer of all business logic within the system. He was a wonderful friend, mentor, and in the business world where politics rein a man I would trust my life to. We had one argument in 6 stressful years on a major systems project and after the argument we met and agreed we would never do that again for the morale of our staff. He was the most wonderful person I have ever worked with and will be missed deeply by friends and this world. God bless Don, Linda and his wonderful family.
I remember remember will the family get-togethers when Uncle Donald and his brother Fred would get going and the fun would start.
The other clear memory I have is the family reunion at Sherman Drew’s house. The were under going a renovation at the time and us young folks were sleeping in the room with sleeping bags. He and I think Sherman woke all the kids up by making waffles and screaming “Waffles! Waffles! Waffles! Oh the fun.
Well Uncle Donald
Waffles! Waffles! Waffles! You fought the good fight.
Charlotte
Uncle Donald you will be missed. I have a few memories of you as a small child. What I remember is you had a sense humor, always laughing and you were a HUGE fisherman! Always fishing. I remember my dad on a few occasions going fishing with you. Say Hi to O’ma, Uncle Freddy, Aunt Connie and Gram and the rest for me. Until we have our family reunion.
Love your Great Niece,
Sarah
So sorry for your loss.
Rest in peace Uncle Don. You will be sorely missed by so many. A light has definitely gone out of my life. You were so brave and tough through all this and such an inspiration with your zest for life. I will miss your laugh and wisdom. You will be forever in my heart, thoughts and prayers. My prayers and thoughts go out to Aunt Linda and the rest of the family too.
Dear Linda and family
We r so sorry for your loss, rest in peace Don!
Love
Norma and Gord Campbell
Linda, so sorry for your loss. We will keep you in our prayers.
We have only known Don for about 12 years but feel we have known him our whole lifetime and even though a relatively short time I think of Don as a great friend. He is also the most avid fisherman I have ever met, who else do you know that has gone to Mongolia (twice) just to catch a big trout. We only see each other a few times a year but it is as if we were together just a few days ago. I enjoy geocaching and Don would always go with me and others no matter how rough the territory and we have found many geocaches in several states and even in Canada. Don had a unique and infectious laugh that I will never forget.
God bless you Don, i will never forget you.
Larry and Carol Baker
I worked with Don at Mobil Chemical Co and became good friends with him when we were both assigned to a new Plastics Plant being built in Shawnee, Ok and discovered we both loved fishing..I will never forget our family’s first camping trip to Lake Eufala along with the Schmidts. Upon our return to NY I became a neighbor of Dons on Honeoye Lake. Don had scheduled to join me on a Tampa Bay fishing charter trip last week but was unable to make it. Now we will have to have that trip when I meet up with him in heaven. You will be sorely missed, my friend. My prayers are with you Linda, Fred & Keith. So sorry for your tremendous loss.
Dear Linda and family: I am deeply saddened by the news of Don’s passing. My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
We have only known Don for 12 years but he is one of the most unforgettable peaple we have ever met. How many people do you know have gone fishing in Mongolia – twice! I hope they allow fishing in heaven. Even though I have only known him for that long I consider him a great friend. We had great times geocashing in several states and even in Canada. We will miss Don and will forever remember his unique laugh. God bless you Don.
I worked with Don for decades at Mobil Chemical where one of his many contributions was to install a computer system called DMS. We always told him the”D” was for Don. I also had the good fortune to fish with Don and I have never seen a better or more knowledgeable fisherman. Nor, anyone that had more bass tackle!
Most of all I will remember Don for his great upbeat attitude an constant and contagious laugh. Just an all-around great guy. He will certainly be missed.
RIP Don and blessings to Linda and the Bennett family
Such a fighter!! Sending condolences to the entire family and to his friends. We are convinced his adventures will continue.
Donald, I know the Giant season is so bad, but you didn’t have to get out of it this way. I will miss you always my friend and Delta Phi brother.
Dear Linda and family,
We are so very sorry for your loss. Joe and I will keep you in our hearts and prayers. There are no words to express the loss of your husband and your father. Don was a brave and courageous man.
May you Rest In Peace Don.
Much love,
Becky & Joe Krupski