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Submitted: 6/4/23 • Approved: 6/5/23 • Last Updated: 6/8/23 • R1487261-G1487260-S3
Alva
September 25, 1902 - March 31, 1970
Son of Albert Frederick and Lillie Ann Tygart Bennett
Clara
February 11, 1906 - March 26, 2003
*Obituary
Clara Fay Bennett passed away Wednesday, March, 26, 2003, in Fort Smith. She was born Feb. 11, 1906, in Alpha, to Edward and Susan Woodford. Alpha was located in central Yell County near what is now Centerton. As a teenager she lost both of her parents within a few months of each other. She raised three younger brothers and sisters while finishing high school and attending Arkansas Tech in Russellville. She graduated at Tech with a teaching certificate. The nickname many family members called her was "Tech." Clara had four brothers, Edward Woodford Jr., Benjamin Franklin Woodford, William Irving Woodford and Donald Ross Woodford and two sisters, Elizabeth Mary Burns and Eleanor Ruth Hunt, all of who preceded her in death. She married A.C. Bennett on Dec. 23, 1931. They have three children, Thomas C. of Bella Vista, Samuel E. of Tulsa and Benjamin I. Bennett of Fort Smith. Her husband preceded her in death in 1976. She was an active person all of her life, including a stint of building glider airplanes for the armed forces during World War II. She worked at the factory located at the present commercial airport of Fort Smith. Clara was an active member of St. Paul Methodist Church and was recognized as a "Pillar of the Church" in a special ceremony March 17, 1971, and served as a member of the original building committee of the current sanctuary. As a longtime Sunday school teacher of the Pathfinders class, she would repeat her class at Methodist Village on many Sunday afternoons. She was also an active member of the United Methodist Women. She was fond of the Village and after living with Tom for 18 years, she requested to move back to Methodist Village and to her home in Fort Smith. We reluctantly moved her back in 1997, where she happily remained until March 2001. She moved to Fort Smith Health and Rehabilitation Center at that time to receive the extended care that one of age needed. Grandmother Bennett has 10 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. She took great pride in the accomplishments of all of her family and shared her rich encouragement with all who sought her advice and ideas. She had some excellent ideas about this great country we live in and reveled in the progress that it made during her lifetime. He letters to the editor were published in Houston, Denver and Oklahoma City newspapers. She had articles published by Ann Landers and Heloise. Without bragging, she often told us that she had left her indelible mark on the world, and it is so true. No person on earth was neither more caring nor more generous than Clara. Funeral will be 2 p.m. Friday at St. Paul United Methodist Church with burial at Roselawn cemetery under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home of Fort Smith. Pallbearers will be Harold Morris, Richard Houge, Robert Vowell, Larry Corkern, Bill McCain and Jeff Morris.
Photo courtesy of Frances Allen Titsworth
Contributed on 6/4/23 by Billsully060
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Record #: 1487261