Robert Cecil Bennett

Robert C. Bennett passed away in the morning on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at the Champlin Shores Nursing home in Champlin, MN. He was 86 years old.

Funeral Services will be held 1:00 p.m., Monday, October 30, 2023 at Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel in Kimball with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Maine Prairie Cemetery in Maine Prairie Township.

Robert died suddenly after health struggles starting on Monday which were believed to be the result of his long-term struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was diagnosed about six years ago and had seen a steady decline in his mental and physical health over the past year.

Robert was an Air Force veteran, an avid sports fan, and he enjoyed gambling and playing checkers with friends and family. 

He was born in Maine Prairie Township, in Stearns County, MN, near Kimball, on Sept. 12, 1937, to Alvin "Rusty" Bennett and Mildred (Brower) Bennett. His family were farmers, and they farmed areas in Stearns and Meeker Counties, near the cities of Kimball, Watkins, and Litchfield. His father died in a farm accident when Robert was very young, and he and his six siblings were raised by their mother, Mildred - a teacher. Robert graduated from Grove City High School in 1955, where he played football and basketball. He enlisted in the Air Force shortly thereafter where he spent four years in military service stationed as an airplane mechanic, in Texas and South Dakota. He served on active duty, and in the reserves, from 1955 to 1963.

His career was spent as a heavy equipment operator and construction contractor, and he was a member of the Local #49 Union of Operating Engineers. He was known for being well-versed in a wide variety of construction trade skills - a self-proclaimed "Jack-of-All-Trades and master of none." During his life he had built, or helped build, nearly a dozen houses in Minnesota, including two houses in rural Buffalo that he and his family lived in. He also helped his brothers Jerald and Frank with construction projects in California.

Robert lived, for most of his life, in or near Buffalo, MN. For most of the past several years he resided in Las Vegas, NV.

Robert is survived by his sons, Ross Bennett of Brooklyn Park, MN, 57, and Ryan Bennett of Modesto, CA, 51; and his only living brother, Gary (Dorie) Bennett of Wyoming, MN. He was preceded in death by his father and mother; his sister, Betty Gross; and four of his brothers, Jerald Bennett of Bellflower, CA, Glenn Bennett of Kimball, MN, Gene Bennett of St. Cloud, MN and Frank Bennett of Las Vegas, NV.

Obituary, Guestbook, and Video Tribute online at www.dingmannfuneral.com

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