Mary E. Bennett, 89

The 89-year life of Mary Elizabeth Adams Bennett was a life full of grace, compassion, and godliness. She was beloved by her family and friends, and it is impossible to fully convey the extent to which she will be missed. 

Mary passed away on Nov. 3, 2024, at her family’s home in Hill.

She was born on Feb. 24, 1935, in Marienville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Gerald and Elizabeth Harp Adams. Her early life was enriched by the small-town values and experiences of Marienville, a crossroads in Northwestern Pennsylvania. This remote rural town where her mother grew up was chosen for the location of their family restaurant affectionally called “Jerry’s Dinor.” Her father had been a cook in the military during World War II. 

After graduating from high school, she left Marienville for Pittsburgh where she attended Robert Morris Jr. College and majored in secretarial studies. She then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she was an executive secretary at Swift and Company and then General Motors. In 1965, she married her beloved Gary Bennett, living and working in Cleveland until 1978, when they moved to Port Orange, Florida. In Port Orange, she built a life full of love, raising their daughter, Holly, and enjoying life with Gary until his death in 2016. She was devoted to family, her church, and her friends. She was very involved with Crossroads Church, singing in the choir, teaching classes, and demonstrating her Christian values every day. She was also a store manager at Country Hearth Bread Store. Over the years, Port Orange became the family refuge for Holly and son-in-law, Jason, and her grandchildren John, Molly, and Gracie. They cherished their visits to see their “Nana” and looked forward to Mary’s lengthy visits with them in New Hampshire.

Those family visits were supplemented frequently by Mary’s love of traveling and cruising, especially with her family. She took trips to Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and New England.

They all provided Mary with inestimable joy and her family with cherished memories.  

Mary spent much of her final two years in a rambling New England country home in New Hampshire surrounded by her loving family. It was a time of laughter, joy, games, and simple contentment, notwithstanding Mary’s constant fretting over the cold New Hampshire weather. 

Shouts of “Bingo” and the laughter of her family playing cards and board games surrounded Mary in her later life literally until her final days. Living to attend and experience Molly’s and Gracie’s recent weddings was a source of tremendous happiness in Mary’s last days. Mary will always be remembered for her remarkable faith and constant love of God and family as a defining component of her legacy.

Mary is survived by her daughter Holly (Jason) Schilling; granddaughters Molly (Samuel) McClory and Gracie (Matthew) Berry; grandson John Schilling; brother Mike (Joyce) Adams; sister Linda (Bill) Farthing. 

There are no calling hours.

A celebration of life will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Danbury Community Center, 15 High St., Danbury. 

For those wishing, the family suggests donations may be made in Mary’s memory to the Danbury Community Center, 15 High St., Danbury, NH 03230.

Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/Emmons Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, visit Wilkinsonbeane.com and EmmonsFuneralHome.com.