Ellen Bennett

Ellen Jean Bennett (Merry) was born on March 24, 1932 in Rapid City, South Dakota. She lived on her family’s farm in South Dakota with her parents and younger sister Ardith. Tragedy struck early in her life when she lost her father to cancer when she was 12 years old. Her mother remarried and tragedy struck again when her stepfather was killed in a hunting accident. Despite these early setbacks in life, she pressed forward with courage, grace and resilience that would be her defining characteristic.

She attended school early in life, in a one room schoolhouse on the South Dakota plains and eventually graduated from high school in 1951. After high school she attended Yankton College in Yankton, SD and got her degree in teaching. She moved to Denver after graduating from college and began her teaching career for the Cherry Creek School District.  During her single years, she was filled with a sense of adventure and even took a trip with her teaching girlfriends to Hawaii. Although that may seem commonplace now, that was quite extraordinary in the 1950’s! Ellen met Art Bennett at an event at University of Denver and they were married on August 2nd, 1959. They were married for 53 years before Art’s passing on October 28th, 2012.

Ellen continued teaching after her marriage to Art and it was her lifelong passion. She had a special place in her heart for the disadvantaged and was a homebound teacher for many years for the Littleton School District. After her retirement from the district, she was an active volunteer at Amnes Elementary School. In addition to teaching, Ellen was very involved in her church, Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit. From choir, to teaching Sunday School, to playing the piano and providing meals for parishioners in need, Ellen was an active presence at the Church. Ellen’s other passion was her six grandchildren. She was a constant in their lives and always made sure they had plenty of Grandma’s cookies. She even mailed them cookies in college on a regular basis!

Ellen is survived by her children, Phillip Bennett and Michelle Raymond and her six grandchildren - Ben and Amy Raymond and Hank, Jack, Luke and Moise Bennett. Ellen died on October 22nd, 2022 and will be buried next to her husband at Fort Logan National Cemetery.  A memorial service will be held at 10:00am on November 22nd at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit (6400 S. University Blvd, Centennial, CO 80121).

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Littleton Public Schools Foundation. All funds collected will benefit the LPS Homebound Program. To make an online donation, please visit LPSFoundation.com , click on the Donate button, select in memory of Ellen Bennett. Checks may be made payable to:
Littleton Public Schools Foundation and mailed to Littleton Public Schools
Foundation, 5776 S. Crocker Street, Littleton, CO 80120.

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