G. W. "Bill" Bennett

George W. “Bill” Bennett passed away on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 is Mesa, AZ. He is survived by his wife Patsy Crist Bennett and his four children. Julie Jantz, Odessa, WA, Thomas Bennett, Seattle, WA, Daniel Bennett, Renton, WA and John Bennett, Bellingham, WA. He is also survived by two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, sister, Carol (George) Gooding, Bellingham, WA, numerous nieces and nephews and many loving family and friends. He joined the Navy and served as a radio operator during WWII. After the war he became a meat cutter for a number of years. He then joined the Bellingham Fire Department in 1951. He served there for 28 years, retiring at the rank of Asst. Chief. In 1980 he was offered a position as deputy director of the Whatcom County Department of Emergency Management and served there for 5 years. In 1985 he took an emergency planning position with the Washington State Emergency Management in Olympia. He served there for 5 years before taking an Emergency Planning Coordinator position in the Washington State Patrol. He retired in 1997 to enjoy salmon fishing, gardening and traveling. Services will be held at Westford Funeral Home on Thursday, April 24 at 1PM, with a reception following. Burial will be at Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bellingham Fire Department, 1800 Broadway, Bellingham, WA 98225-3133.