Vernon Ray Bennett, Jr, age 86, passed away March 17, 2016.
Known to family and friends as V.R., he was born December 23, 1929, in Bell County Kentucky, to the late Vernon Ray Bennett, Sr and Frances M (Goins) Bennett. He often commented that he was the best Christmas presents his parents ever received. He married Betty Ruth Price on July 19, 1949, who survives.
V.R. was preceded in death by his sister, Alice M. Woolum. He is survived by his beloved wife Betty, of Marion; son Vernon Ray (Cheryl)Bennett, III, Indiana; four daughters, Clemma Jo (Monty) Campbell, Gas City; Ila Ruth (Jerry) Bennett, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Lois Yvonne (Bud) Morrison, Noblesville; and Amy Carol Bennett, of Marion.
V.R. is also survived by two brothers, Ronald Dean (Helen) Bennett, Marion; and Bruce Arnold (Mona) Bennett, Pineville, KY; thirteen grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren, and one great, great grandson.
V.R. served in the Army and worked in the Kentucky coal mines before moving the family to Marion to work for General Motors as a tool and die maker, where he worked until his retirement after forty-two years.
He loved the outdoors, hunting and fishing, and teaching the grandkids to help him garden and work in the yard. V.R. was always whittling and ALWAYS had a good story. He also loved teaching the little ones how to whittle without cutting their fingers off! He was a
33 1/3 degree Mason and a Shriner. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge Samaritan 105, and Scottish Rite, Ft. Wayne.
Friends may call from 10:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at Raven-Choate Funeral Home, 1202 Kem Rd, Marion, IN. Burial will take place immediately following visitation in Grant Memorial Park Cemetery, Marion, IN.
Online condolences may be made at www.ravenchoate.com.