FROM THE SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH MESSENGER-INQUIRER

Edith L. Bennett, 81, of Owensboro passed away Friday, April 12, 2013, at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. Ms. Bennett was born June 21, 1931, in Livermore to the late Dorsey Slade and Isa Taylor Rone Bennett. She also was preceded in death by a half brother, Dr. Wendell H. Rone Sr.; and grandparents, the Rev. James Pendleton Taylor and Mildred Bunch of Rochester and James Samuel Bennett and Berilla Gilstrap of McLean County.

Edith Bennett 1931 - 2013
Edith Bennett 1931 - 2013
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EDITH'S EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

She graduated from Livermore High School as valedictorian in 1949. She also attended Owensboro Business College, Moody Bible Institute and Mid-Continent University. She served as secretary of Third Baptist Church, where she was a member for 33 years, and was clerk of the Daviess McLean Baptist Association for 13 years.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

She was a member of Owensboro Choral Society "Messiah" for 55 years and of the Capt. William Rowan Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution for 55 years, as well as an associate member of the General Evan Shelby and Green River Chapters of NSDAR. She served in several local and state KSDAR offices. She was honored as Woman in History of the Year in 2010.

AT WOMI 62 YEARS

She was an employee of radio station WOMI from 1950 until the present. Her radio programs won several awards, including one from the National Federation of Music Clubs, SAR, DAR, and a local veterans organization. She was secretary for Hugh O. Potter, founder of Kentucky Broadcasters Association, for 33 years, and for Dr. Walter I. Munday of the Owensboro District of Methodist Churches for six years. She was listed in Who's Who in Religion in America and Women of the South and was past president of West Central Kentucky Family Research Association.

AS AN HISTORIAN

She co-authored and compiled some 30 books on related families and the history of Livermore. One written about the Battle of Sacramento, "Our Own," was co-authored with Eldon Eaton. Another book on slavery in her family in this area she wrote with Lenora Lindley was "Spiderwebs, a Steamer Trunk and Slavery." One book about Uncle Tom's life she discovered when in Canada was "Pierced Ears and Broken Hearts."

She and Allyene Gregory were the Owensboro representatives for Mayor David Adkisson at the 200th anniversary in Dresden, Ontario. She also co-authored a work about Abraham Lincoln with Hugh Potter.

She was a co-founder and vice president of the Old Hebron-Hunt Family reunions near Huntsville from 1957 to present. She was a lifetime member of the McLean County History and Genealogy group, Kentucky Historical Society and a Kentucky Colonel.

SURVIVORS

She is survived by a niece, Ila Rone Miller of Las Vegas; two nephews, Wendell Rone Jr. of Lake Quivira, Kan., and Kyle Yates Rone of Houston; two great-nieces; six great-nephews; 18 great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews; and cousins Gary and Mary Lisa Tunget and Mike and Vicki Stovall of Owensboro, Ora Turner and Alice Boyken of Livermore and Corinth Stocking of Hartford.

SERVICES

A memorial service will be at 4 p.m. April 27 at Third Baptist Church, Owensboro. Burial will be in Old Mill/Bennett Cemetery in the No Creek area of Ohio County. Smith Funeral Home, Morgantown, is in charge of arrangements. Contributions can be made to Settle Memorial Methodist Missions, 201 E. Fourth St., Owensboro, KY 42303; McLean County Museum/Research Center, Box 34, Calhoun, KY 42327; and McLean County Public Library, Second Street at Hill, Livermore, KY 42352.

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