Janet Bennett, 81; Longtime Tolland bank Executive Secretary

Janet René (Freeman) Bennett, 81, of Ellington, beloved wife of the late Walter Dick Bennett, died peacefully on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, at the Masonic Home in Wallingford.

She was born on Sept. 4, 1933, in Norwich, daughter of the late Frederick and Goldie (Moumblow) Freeman. Janet was an honors graduate of the Norwich Free Academy in 1951 and went on to graduate from the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Montclair, New Jersey. She traveled to the Panama Canal Zone to spend a year with her uncle, Frank Moumblow, a canal lock operations manager in 1956. She and Dick were married on Nov. 15, 1958, and they both celebrated 50 years of marriage in November 2008. Since Dick was toa career Naval Officer, Janet lived in several states–Connecticut, New York, Maine, and California, and in 1973 came to Ellington, and where she has been a resident ever since. Janet was a member of Union Congregational Church in Rockville. During Dick’s Naval career Janet was an active member of the officer’s wives clubs at several military bases and while her kids were young she was actively involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Howell Cheney Technical School and as a Den Mother for the Cub Scouts. She worked most of her life in a variety of secretarial roles, most notably as a professional administrator for General Electric in New York and for Tolland Bank as the executive secretary for the bank president at its main office in Tolland. She retired from Tolland Bank after 13 years of dedicated service. Janet was a longtime member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She loved to cook and her main hobbies were sewing, flower gardening, and along with Dick was a very active member of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Camping Travelers group. A loving, sociable, kind, caring and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend she will be greatly missed.

She leaves her sons, David W. Bennett and his wife, Dana, of Griswold, Thomas W. Bennett and his wife, Cheryl, of Lebanon, and James E. Bennett and Arlene Tiwari of Ellington; eight grandchildren, Susan, Michael, Jennifer, Kristen, Garret, Rebecca, René, and Andrew; and two great-grandsons, Asher and Liam; along with nephew John Freeman and his son, Justin, of Cocoa Beach, Florida. She was predeceased by her brother, Gordon “Pete” Freeman, his wife Alita and their oldest son Peter.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, 4 p.m., at the Ladd Turkington & Carmon Funeral Home, 551 Talcottville Road, Vernon. Her family will receive friends on Saturday, prior to the service from 2 to 4 p.m. at the funeral home. A private family burial with her late husband Dick will take place at Arlington National Cemetery in November.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the

Alzheimer’s Association

, CT Chapter 2075 Silas Deane Highway, Suite 100, Rocky Hill, CT 06067, or Masonic Charity Foundation of CT, P.O. Box 70 Wallingford, CT 06492, or Norwich Free Academy Foundation Inc., 321 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360.

Please visit us at

www.carmonfuneralhome.com

for online condolences and guest book.