William "Bill" Bennett

Rotterdam- William J. Bennett, 88, At Rest Sunday July 6, 2014 William (Bill) Bennettwas born in Niagara Falls, NY on January 20, 1926 .He was the son of the late Guy William Bennett and Ethel R. (Kenney) Bennett and brother of the late Richard and Robert Bennett. William was a member the Lasalle Masonic Lodge #1049 in Niagara Falls, NY . In addition he was a member of the Carman United Methodist Church in Rotterdam, NY. He graduated from Clarkson University with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering.He was a member of Omicron Pi Omicron fraternity. During World War 2 he served in the US Navy as a Naval Aviator.Bill was always quite passionateand proud with regard tohis Naval service. He served his country well and with great honor.After the service he worked for ATT as a District Engineer . ATT later morphed into NYNEX, and ultimately Verizon. He retired from NYNEX in 1988. Billwas the consummate "engineer" who was among one of the most handy persons you could ever meet.After his retirement he worked on many projects for his family and friends . He was always sought after for his opinion on how to fix something or how to make it work better. He also had a great sense of humor and right up until the very end he "entertained" many of the staff at both the hospital and in the nursing home.Simply put he was a "character" who for people who met him, never forgot him. Bill, was pre deceased by his wife of over 44 years, Bernadette in 1992.Surviving Bill are his three children , Linda Samson (Robert ), Debra Brown(Keith) and William Bennett (Debbie), his grand children Robert Samson (Jennifer), Daniel Samson(Sarah), Sarah Seymour (Benjamin), Daniel Giddens (Alana ), Amy Giddens, Rachel Bennett , Jessica Bennett, Jeff Brown (Maureen).Great grand children, Emma Samson, Layla Samson and Henry Seymour, Ben Brown, Emma Brown, Sam Brown. Based on Bill's wishes there will be no funeral.The family is planning to have a private memorial service at a later date. The family would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and prayers for him duringthe past several months.They are greatly appreciated. Contributions are welcome in Bill's honor to the Carman United Methodist Church, 2350 Hamburg Street, Schenectady, NY 12303. 518-355-7260.