Herschel E. Bennett was born on September 7, 1930 in Springfield, Missouri and passed away on March 12, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Hersch was the youngest son of Herschel E. Bennett and Gladys G. (Cloud) Bennett Dodson. His parents and twin brothers, Robert C. Bennett and William P. Bennett, preceded Hersch in death. H.E., as he was called growing up in Springfield, graduated from Springfield Central High School in 1948. He attended Drury University, transferred to University of Tulsa and graduated in 1952. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Following graduation, Lt. Bennett served as Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Naval Officers' Club at Bolling Field AFB in Washington, D.C. He was manager of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. and a vice-president of the Fairmont Corp. in San Francisco, CA under Bill Marriott, before undertaking a career of diverse entrepreneurial enterprises. In April 1989, he married his wife, Valentina Markova of Russia, whom he had met in Marbella, Spain. They enjoyed traveling and visiting friends and family. Hersch is survived by his wife, Valentina; sisters-in-law, Angie (Bob) Bennett, and Jean (Bill) Bennett; nephews, Bob (Cynthia) Bennett, Andy Bennett, and Steve (Karin) Bennett; and niece, Susan (Turner) White; as well as eight treasured great-nieces and nephews. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, March 24, 2012 at Maple Park Cemetery, under the care of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, followed by a celebration of Hersch's life for family and friends at the home of Cynthia and Bob Bennett.