"It's been almost 9 years to the day that you've been missing from our lives. It's been awhile, but you came to me in a dream last night. You seemed so at peace. Maybe that is because grannie is with you now. There are so many things I wish I could share with you. Like, did you know you were mentioned in my favorite murder podcast for your work on a decapitation in Oconomowoc during the 80s? I would love nothing more than to listen to your stories and hear your laugh again. Love, Krista"
In loving memory of
Kenneth Alan Bennett
October 3, 1935 - February 6, 2014
Kenneth Alan Bennett, retired professor, Biological Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Madison, passed away on Feb. 6th, 2014 at Agrace Hospice after battling Multiple Myeloma.
Born Oct. 3, 1935 in Butler Oklahoma, he grew up at a time that wearing a holster and cowboy hat were the norm. He developed an interest in Archeology and artifacts at an early age, scouring the sand hills of West Texas. He attended Odessa Jr. College for two years and received his AS degree in 1956 As a young man, he worked the oil fields and loved being high up in the derricks. He was drafted in to the army and served 2 years of duty. Upon returning home, he met Helen Maze and a romance ensued that would last for 54 years. They married on Sept. 6, 1959. After moving to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas, he began working towards his BA, receiving it in 1961. He furthered his education at UA, Tucson earning his MA degree, then achieved his dream of PHD in Biological Anthropology in 1967. One of his fondest memories was going out in the desert picnicking in the sand dunes with his family. The next move was to Eugene, Oregon where he was employed as assistant professor at University of Oregon. In 1970, the UW Madison Anthropology dept. offered him the position of Associate prof. and then full professor in 1975. Among his many credits are producing nine PHD students, authoring "The Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology", "The Field Guide for Human Skeletal Identification", and a nomination for the Distinguished Teaching Award. Apart from academia, he specialized in Forensic Anthropology, working with the state crime lab from 1972-1997. He was instrumental in helping with some of Wisconsin's famous criminal investigations including The Chimney Man and Jeffrey Dahmer. He enjoyed his retirement by feeding his intellect. A voracious reader on subjects ranging from Botany, Volcanoes, Astronomy, Economics and Politics, etc.. he was a wordsmith, mathematician, and a cross word puzzle aficionado, working them in ink and throwing away the answers. One of his greatest pleasures was their backyard garden. They challenged themselves to increase the yield out of a 10' x 20' plot and last summer grew over 4000 tomatoes from sixteen plants. He was proud of making the best dirt in Wisconsin. Their other source of garden pride was their V12 juice. Thousands of jars were canned, coveted and consumed by friends and family.
He is survived by his wife, Helen, of Madison; two daughters, Letitia (Doug) Erdman, Cheri Bennett; two grandchildren, Krista and Jack of Fort Atkinson; sister, Judy of Colorado Springs, Co.. He is further survived by other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister.
It was his choice to be cremated without services. The family would like to thank Agrace Hospice for the tender care they gave to him and to us.
Please share your memories at www.informedchoicefunerals.com
Tributes
"I miss you beyond words, Dad. I will always regret squandering time that I could have spent with you, I just never imagined that you would have to go so soon. Love, Tisha "
"Well, Kennie it is now 4 years since you left my side and I missed you every minutes of those 4 years.....your loving wife, Helen"
"Ken- Almost a year now. I wish I were still reading your political criticisms or witticisms. Now, I have no one to share mine with. Really miss you, dude. Mike Simmons"
"Kennie, just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and wish you were still by my side. Oh, how I miss you. I'll get to the point where I can write more about what a wonderful individual you were, taught me a lot. You were way a head of your times. We had 54 beautiful years (that's including the good and bad ones) It doesn't seem possible you have been gone from me for over half a years (7 months and one day) a lifetime. Write more Kennie, when my tears dry....Love you, your wife, Helen "
"My dad had a knack for growing any plant or vegetable especially tomatoes. Mom & dad would eat tomatoes like you would an apple, I hated tomatoes and even though dad would keep trying to get me to eat one I refused ! One day I was on my way out and dad said he would pay me a buck to eat a tomato just like it was (whole) ick ! after some time I ended up choking it down but not until I got dad up to $8 bucks to eat this thing (laughing) now I had gas money. Like your granddaughter there isn't a single day that goes by for me without you in my thoughts and even dreams.....I miss you so much ! Cheri"
"When my brother and I were young and went to visit Poppa, one of my favorite things he would do was hold two silver dollars in his fist and try and let us pry his fingers open. Of course we couldn't because he was far too strong however he would eventually give in and let us have the silver dollars. You were the strongest man in my life and there's not a day that goes by that I stop thinking about you. "
"I have so many stories I could go on & on but here is just one. When I was very young & up until late teens my dad & I would go for motorcycle rides quite often. We would take rides just about everywhere such as the time we took a short cut thru some construction & he said "we can make it" ....it was sand & we made it half way & slowly sunk. He usually drove very fast whether it was his idea or me egging him on. One day he was going pretty fast & we turned a sharp corner, I had sparks coming from my foot peg because it was scraping against the pavement so you can imagine the angle that we were at. I could have filed my finger nails lol it was FUN. My dad was the only man I knew who could ride his bike, roll a cigarette & hold his drink with out spilling a drop......now thats talent ! I have many stories & will write about another one at a different time. MISS YOU DAD Love Cheri"
"Ken Bennett: Mentor, Friend and "Family". He was a large man. Needed to be so to accommodate: His love of the three women in his life; Helen, Tisha and Krista. His love of Biological Anthropology, Evolution and Mother Nature. His love of Teaching; learning, stimulation minds and counseling adrift stoontz.. His love of his students who sat at his feet and became acquainted with his intellectual, philosophical and emotional universes. His love of association with his many friends over good beers, spicy-hot foods and searinglingly hot peppers. His magnificent garden and its incredible abundance, coaxed harvested and preserved with Helen. His passion for Life in all its varied splendor. His passion in transplanting certain naughty rodents to a park down the road.. His passion AND expertise in making kites, the old way, for his girls and friends! His love of nature, whether a magnificent, roaring beach, a flitting hummer or some scientific intricacy revealed in a mathematical equation or crossword puzzle . His passing leaves large Bennett-like holes in the lives and memories of those who knew and loved him. Ken: Thanks for the memories, for the always available ear and Love. Lyle "
"Back in the 1960s, academia had a pretty significant gender divide, so far as opportunities go. I never felt that my grades were affected by being female, but opportunities based on them did. Doesn't make sense, but neither does any other discriminatory practice. Anyhow, I was in my second year of graduate school at U of O when Ken came to the faculty. I was assigned as his TA; this was not a speaking job -- it was supposed to be a grading-only-job, . The actual TA work (and pay) was, so far as I recall at that time, assigned to male graduate students, but I do remember giving a talk or two, because he asked me to do it, and trusted I would do it well. I learned a lot from him, and he became my adviser and mentor. Anyhow, it was the time of NDEA scholarships, and all graduate students were applicants for these and for working-jobs--or maybe we had to ask to be considered, I don't remember. I do remember that I found out why/how I got one for that 3rd year. A group of faculty including Ken discussed it. One of the others -- I do not know who -- said about me, well, she can't leave and go elsewhere because her husband has a job here so we don't need to give her a scholarship. [Well, Don's job was 50 miles away, and we'd had to maintain different residences the first year, me with children in Eugene, he in a sort of boarding-house room in Salem because as a reporter he covered meetings at all hours and was required to be on the spot, ASAP--the second year I rented a room 3 nights a week from a student in Eugene--so it was not all gravy, far from it]. BUT--back to the story: To which comment from the other speaker, Ken said, I had better grades and more potential and that is what counts. Period. Or something to that effect. And so it was. That was it. These were the days when U of O had a few part-time female instructors. And people were found for jobs via the old-boy method of calling up a friend in another institution and asking for a recommendation. But Ken was one who, even in his first year as a faculty member, at U of O, said No. We can do better. Now of course we have something of an old-boy and old-girl system buried within and sneaking around the bureaucracy, but for a short while, at least here and there, where people like Ken Bennett lived, it was different. So of course, I have always taken pleasure in being his first Ph.D., and remembering those days, long ago. Thank you Helen, for being there. Bobbi (Roberta) Hall "
"I thank you for your stories & condolence, I will add to this but am not ready yet. I will get a hold of you Bill & thank you Doug. Cheri (Ken's youngest daughter) "
"I met my old friend in the TAs room at the U of A in the fall of 1962, when we both started grad school. We shared several classes as well. Since I had no car, ,he would drive me to his house many Sundays to watch NFL (Cowboys) games, and thus I met his growing family. A TA's stipend wouldn't support the family, so Ken always worked other jobs-the best one at the VA Hospital where he learned electrophoresis. In those days, however, he was a bone man. As such, we followed two teenagers into the depths of a poorly known cave near Tucson to find some ancient bones. Crawling through tunnels forever had us seriously scared these kids would get lost. We found the bones, and our way out (very difficult), and drank a beer to NEVER doing that again. I'll toast him again tonight as I'll miss him dearly. It should be noted that sometime in the 70s (?), Ken was editor of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology ( or the Yearbook?). "
"While "walking around the block" with my treking poles, I oftentimes would see Ken sitting on the back of his pickup truck and one day I waved and said "hello." Realizing that I was another of his neighbors, we chatted a bit. Besides the introductions to Ken and Helen, I shared an interest in gardening and was shown their backyard garden. I was amazed at the dedication and hard work they shared in producing their V12 juice. Rest in peace, Ken."
"My memories of a great friendship with Ken during the late 1940's to 1954 bring back those wonderful times we had as young men fortunate to have been Depression children with parents and teachers that gave us the opportunity to prove our value to society. Ken was a "true friend", always with a smile and ready to help, whether it was academic in nature or helping you out of the "greasers" as we finished a shift on the rig. Dear Ken, thanks for all the wonderful memories. We will meet up again and get another laugh out of putting a Coyote behind a hot steam radiator in OHS. Goodbye for now my friend. "
"I have so many good memories of visiting Ken in his front yard and hearing his stories and latest jokes. He was a great neighbor and friend and I'll miss him. Please pass my best wishes to his family and I'm sorry for their loss. Doug Smith, Madison"
"I was a Physical Anthropology major, and a student of Dr. Bennett's in the mid 1970's. Many times (including just last night) I have told others that the most memorable class I ever took was Dr. Bennett's Bone Lab. Dr. Bennett brought in his stories and experiences as a forensic anthropologist in ways that made the bones we looked at come alive. For our tests, I still remember taking bone fragments and trying to identify where the fragments came from - based on porosity, distinctive crests or foramina, shiny surfaces for articulation, etc. There was also a collaborative camaraderie in the class that we undergraduates didn't get often in the big lectures. It was with sadness I ready his obituary in the Wisconsin State Journal. My sincere sympathy and condolences to the family. (Ms) Dale Mitchell "