Mrs. Barbara D. Bennett, 88, of Yulee, Fla., passed away Monday, December 16, 2019 at Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Fernandina Beach, Fla.
Born in Anderson, S.C. and raised in Greenville, she was the daughter of the late Louise Ducworth Gentry.
In 1951, she married Thomas “Jim” Bennett and they moved to Jacksonville, where they made their home and raised their family. In 1987, she and her husband moved to Yulee and into her log cabin on the “prettiest piece of property in Nassau County.” Mrs. Bennett retired after 20 years of service with the Florida Department of Children and Family. She also volunteered at Baptist Medical Center Nassau for approximately 25 years.
A longtime member of Blackrock Baptist Church, she was active in the church for as long as her health would permit. Whether singing in the choir or helping in some other way, Mrs. Bennett was always willing to show the love of God in whatever way she could. That love best exemplified itself in her love for her husband and family. She lived a blessed life and was a faithful servant of God.
Always trying to take care of everyone around her, she remained fiercely independent even in her last days. She will be remembered as an “angel on earth.”
Mrs. Bennett loved to cook and enjoyed listening to Elvis Presley. She passed her passion for his music on to all of her daughters.
In addition to her mother, she was predeceased by a brother, Donald Drake.
Mrs. Bennett leaves behind her husband of 68 years, Thomas “Jim” Bennett of Yulee; her three daughters, Mary Johnson and her husband, Steve, of Venice, Fla., Debra Connors and her husband, John, of Port Orange, Fla., and Rhonda Bennett and her husband, Don Barr, of Tallahassee, Fla.; her grandchildren, Joshua Holm and his wife, Sharon, Jennifer Jones and her husband, Tim, Annie Marco and her husband, Brian, and Mallery Mangan and her husband, Mike; and her great-grandchildren, Corrie, Cody, Caleb, Sophi, Addisyn, Jackson, Emmerson, and Samantha.
A service to remember and celebrate her life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 20, 2019 at Blackrock Baptist Church. Pastor John Kasper and Rev. Frank Camarotti will officiate. The family will receive friends beginning at 10 a.m.
She will be missed more than words can say but her legacy of faith and love will live on through all of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Please share your memories and condolences at www.oxleyheard.com.
Oxley-Heard Funeral Directors