Niagara County
NYGenWeb
My grandfather, Harold Thielking, and his family were close friends to Guy Bennett and his family in Niagara Falls. The Bennett boys were very close in age to each other, as well as to Harold's son, Roger.
Thielking and Bennett families, about 1936
This photo appears to have been taken at Dempster Grove, a M.E. camp
located between Paris and Oswego, NY.
Left to right: Standing: Harold Thielking, wife Nettie, son Roger, Ethel
Bennett, husband Guy
Kneeling: William, Richard and Robert Bennett,
the boy to the far right may have been Donald Auman a neighbor, who
lived on Pershing ave, directly behind the vacant lot situated between
the Bennett's and Thielking's homes.
Guy William Bennett was born 22 Jun 1903 in Lockport, Niagara County, NY, a son of Guy C. Bennett and Gertrude P. Landrigan. He was married in Niagara Falls on 23 Jun 1925 to Ethel Kenney, who was born about 1906 in Niagara Falls, NY, a daughter of Fred E. Kenney and Ethel Ross.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kenney anounce the marriage of their daughter, Ethel, to Guy William Bennett. The ceremony was solemnized at St. Peter's church Tuesday afternoon, at 3:30 o'clock, the Rev. Philip W. Moslier officiating. The couple was attended by the bride's mother, and Curt Bennett, brother of the groom. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett will reside at No. 91 Bristol avenue. Lockport, after July 1st.
Guy and Ethel had 3 sons, pictured below. The photos were from the Lasalle High School yearbooks, various years.
William J. Bennett
born 20 Jan 1926
Richard G. Bennett
born about 1927
Robert Guy Bennett
born 28 Sep 1928
The family moved to Niagara Falls and by 1938 resided at 8623 Lindburgh avenue. Harold Thielking and his family resided next door at 8611, though there was a vacant double lot between the two homes which later had a home built upon it. The boys all attended the Cayuga Drive elementary school and then the junior/senior LaSalle High School, from which they graduated. Roger once wrote: "The next-door family, the Bennetts, had three boys. They were about my age, one about a year older and the others a bit younger, and we played together a lot. Garages then were usually separate structures set well behind the house. The Bennett garage was positioned even with the garage next door, with just enough space between for us boys' purposes. In winter, when the snow was sufficient and suitable, we would make a "snow fort" between the two structures to play in and during milder weather the road, which was then unpaved and with very sparse traffic, made a near-ideal baseball field." They also played Monopoly together on the Thielking's front porch, sled in the winters together, and walked to school together. One time they tried to build a string can telephone between their homes, with a very long string and two tin cans, one on each end. It didn't work very well.
"Robert aka Porky, Dick and Wm aka Sonny"
This snapshot of the Bennett Boys was apparently taken and titled by Roger Thielking.
Roger Thielking ended up graduating High School a year early, at the age of 16 and 1/2 years old. He then attended the University of Rochester for one and a half years prior to entering the Navy. He wrote the following: "There were very few civilian male students as most went from high school right into the military or were quickly drafted. There were plenty of women, of course, but at that time they were still at the old Prince Street Campus, and the River Campus was for the men. And there were lots of men. The few civilians were mostly those that were ineligible for military service for various reasons. The others, numbering about 900, were sailors and marines newly inducted into the V12 program for preparation for officer training. During my sophomore year I discovered that my childhood neighbor and good friend, Bill Bennett, the oldest of the three Bennett boys mentioned earlier, was one of the sailors. We had no courses together and were both very busy, so we saw very little of each other, but we did have a couple of nice visits together.
Cayuga Drive School
Grades 1 thru 6
LaSalle Junior Senior High School
Grades 7 thru 12
Photos courtesy Roger Thielking, taken by him about 1942.
All three of the Bennett boys have made their way in life and since passed on.
ROTTERDAM - William (Bill) Bennett, 88, at rest Sunday, July 6, 2014. He was 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 of 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 II he served in the US Navy as a Naval Aviator. Bill was always quite passionate and proud with regard to his 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. Bill was the consummate "engineer" who was among one of the most handy people 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 predeceased 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 grandchildren, Robert Samson (Jennifer), Daniel Samson (Sarah), Sarah Seymour (Benjamin), Daniel Giddens (Alana), Amy Giddens, Rachel Bennett, Jessica Bennett, Jeff Brown (Maureen); great-grandchildren, 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 during the 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).
BENNETT, ROBERT GUY, 77, of Hudson, died Thursday (Oct. 13, 2005) at Bear Creek Nursing Home of Hudson. Born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., he came here in 1985 from Grand Island, N.Y. He was a retired Army veteran and a technician for New York Telephone. He was an active member with the First United Methodist Church of Hudson. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Ismailia Temple, High Twelve Club 511 of Bayonet Point, American Legion and was a life member of Telephone Pioneers. Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Jean; a son, Robert W., Anderson, S.C.; a daughter, Lori Ann Egloff, Salisbury, N.C.; and four grandchildren. ICS Cremation Society, Clearwater.
I have not found an obituary for Richard.
The Bennett family goes back several more generations in Lockport. Guy William Bennett's father, Guy C. Bennett, was born about 1880 in Lockport, Niagara County, NY, a son of William T. Bennnett and Harriett. He married Gertrude P. Landrigan, who was also born in Lockport, about 1884, a daughter of John Landrigan and Catherine "Kate" Murphy.
The marriage of Guy C. Bennett and Miss Gertrude P. Landrigan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Landrigan of this city, took place at Rochester, Sept. 21. The Rev. Peter J. Lindsay, pastor of the North Presbyterian church officiated.
Funeral services over the remains of Guy C. Bennett, former alderman of this city and secretary of convention bureau at Niagara Falls, Chicago and Buffalo, who died at Niagara Falls last Sunday following a week's illness with pneumonia, were held Thursday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the First Congregational Church with Rev. Dr. J. Webster Bailey officiating. Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Wendel sang two selections. The interment was in Cold Springs cemetery. The bearers were Paul Buddenhagen, Arthur Thusher, John Landrigan and Buel Spalding. Brief services were held at Niagara Falls before the body was brought to this city. Floral offerings were many and beautiful. The services here were largely attended by friends who wished to pay a final tribute to the memory of the deceased.
Guy C. Bennett's father was William T. Bennett who was born about 1850 and died in Lockport, NY on 6 Apr 1907. He appears to be found with his father in census records for Lockport as a child.
Written and contributed Nov 2017 by Lisa Slaski.
Note: I
do have a few more photos of the Bennett boys, if anyone is interested in them.
Niagara NYGenWeb Copyright
Design by Templates in Time
This page was last updated 08/12/2022