Our family has lost a great man: Fred Clyde Bennett.

He passed away on May 9, 2009 at Careage, in Coupeville. He was two weeks, exactly, short of his 97th birthday. So, yes, we had him in our lives for a long time. He fell on May 2 and broke his hip. They did surgery, and he just didn’t do well.

He was a dad, a papa, a mentor, a role model and a gentle man. We will miss him very much. Papa went to heaven to be with God and his wife Marie, who he missed very much. He had a very long life, but every one of us has learned something from him every day.

Papa was a neat man to know. You probably saw him riding his trusty scooter, going to the Star Store, Mike’s Place, the Thrift Shop, Paul the barber or Dr. Bob Sleights. These were his favorite haunts.

Papa was the youngest child of a family of eight children. He was the last one to survive. His father George Bennett came from Alberta, Canada.

The Bennetts came down from Canada to York, Neb., then on to Cambridge, Ill. That’s where Papa was born on May 23, 1912. The family came to Winner, S.D., first by train until the money ran out, and then finished traveling by covered wagon. That is where the Bennett homestead still stands.

He then met Marie Ollom in Deadwood, S.D. and they were married on May 15, 1937. Jerry was born on

Sept. 13, 1938 and then Steve on June 3, 1942.

Papa has done a lot of interesting things in his lifetime. They include boxing, rodeo (bronc riding) and carpentry. He carried hod and worked on high-rise buildings in Las Vegas, Nev. He worked on the blimp hangers in California. He was also the first plasterer and drywaller on Whidbey Island. And when we took rides with him he would point out all the houses and businesses he had worked on. When he retired in 1985-86, the state of Washington sent him a certificate saying he was the oldest drywaller in the state.

When Papa was 14 or 15 he knew the man who carved Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. Papa played with his children, so he had a chance to ride up in a bucket to watch them carve George Washington’s head. He also told us about the shack behind the heads that holds the dynamite.

There were also times when he lived with the Native Americans.

Papa’s father did all the fireplaces in Teddy Roosevelt’s hunting lodge, which is located at Custer State Park in South Dakota. Several different presidents have used this lodge. Eisenhower was one of them.

Papa and his brothers worked on a chapel at an orphanage that was similar to Boys Town in Torrington, Wyo. They plastered the whole chapel and did the ornamental trim (cornices) and cherubs.

We took Papa back there in 1992 and 1995. He showed us everything he had talked about. It was a great experience; he hadn’t been home in 60 years.

Papa had a lot of friends in Langley who were always looking out after him. We thank you very much.

We especially thank Mike and Mark from Mike’s Place and also the rest of the gang there, all the girls and guys at the Thrift Shop and food bank, all the friends at the Star Store, Paul the barber, the boys at the fire hall, Island County Fair, Dr. Bob in Langley, Gerry and Susan Barret, and the nurses at Careage for Room 16 and all the nursing staff that came to the house, and the friends at Brookhaven. And anyone

I forgot, I apologize to.

Papa leaves behind a great legacy of family: sons Jerry (Karen) and Steve (Susie); 11 grandchildren, Sandy McCabe and Stan, Kathy and Mike Trudeau, Rick and Kim Gauger, Tammy and Dave Witthuhn, Gerald Scott and Pam Bennett, Tina Horst Lee, Daya Horst Stevens, Missy and Mark Ross, Shaun and Amy Wersted, Stacy and Jeff Smith, Matt Bennett;

24 great-grandchildren, Michael McNeer, Aaron and Hannah McCabe, Rachael McCabe, Andi and Matt Hahn, Shawna Burlingame, Isaac Allen, Mike Trudeau Jr., Lacy Schroyer, Breanna Jean Gauger, Chase Alexander Witthuhn, Justin and Jarred Bennett, Michael Jarmin, Nichole Lee, Sarah Lee, Savana Lee, Stephen Rainy, Elizabeth Rainy, Jennifer Rainy, Emily Rainy, Alexander Wersted, Kylie Wersted and Jonathan Smith; 11 great-great-grandchildren, Karli McNeer, Tyler Acord, Ryan Acord, Madelaine Hahn, Bradlie Burlingame, Anthony Burlingame, Cody Burlingame, Kathleen Burlingame, Tyler James Horst, Alexis Rainy, and four or more that are not here yet.

He was a very important man in our family. He was a very kind man, and well-loved, and will be remembered always. Have a good journey Papa!

A memorial service for Papa will be held in late June.

Visser Funeral Home is helping the family with arrangements.