Ruth Griffin Bennett

Ruth Augusta Griffin Bennett, who was born November 15, 1919 in Childress, Texas to Claud Gunn "C. G." Griffin and Lily Simmons Griffin passed away at 11:06 p.m. Sunday, August 10, 2008. Ruth was in peace as her daughter Sarah held her hand while she passed.

Ruth's parents brought her to Big Spring in 1924, after an unsuccessful strike by her father's railroad union sent him and many other railroad men searching for work, which they found with the Texas & Pacific in Big Spring. The young family put down roots in Big Spring and never left. They bought a lot "out south" of townat 1008 South Gregg Streetwhich was then far enough south for the family to have a cow, a well and a tornado cellar. Ruth grew up on South Gregg Street, next door to Mr. and Mrs. O.B. Simmsanother railroad family who came to Big Spring from Childress. She walked to the high school, played with the Simms family children up in the tree house in the giant mulberry tree beside their home. There were three swinging chairs on the lawn and on the front porch of their home. Apricots and pecans fell from trees on their lot.

Ruth went through the Big Spring public schools and then to work as a secretary in the old McCrory's Five and Dime in downtown Big Spring. When World War II came, Ruth found work as a secretary at the Big Spring Bombardier School. It was while working there that she met her future husband, John Bennett, then a young Sergeant and later a young Lieutenant, who as an aide to Colonel Ellis helped organize the installation that later became Webb Air Force Base. In 1945, John Bennett became a widower. He married Ruth on June 11, 1946.

Ruth's husband took her away from Big Spring for many years; the Air Force stationed him in Massachusetts, Arizona, Japan, East Texas, North Dakota, Iowa, and England. Along the way, Ruth gave birth to four children, all in military hospitals: a son in Massachusetts, a daughter and son in Japan, and a son in England. Ruth and John's final Air Force posting was back to Big Spring, where they returned in 1960 to live. In 1962, Ruth returned to the work world, first as a secretary for the Public Accountant, Hal Rosson, and then as a medical secretary for the Veteran's Administration, where Ruth worked until her retirement.

Ruth and John Bennett were members of the College Baptist Church. They liked travel and loved to drive around America in the several recreational vehicles they owned over the years.

In 1987, Ruth and John moved into a retirement community, the Air Force Village in San Antonio, which is designed for retired Air Force officers and their spouses. Until recently, Ruth stayed busy and lived happily in the Air Force Village, but she continued to subscribe to the Big Spring Herald and keep up her relationships with the people of Big Spring.

Ruth was predeceased by her father and mother, C. G. and Lily Simmons Griffin. Her beloved grandson, William C. Bennett Jr., passed away in February 1984. Her husband, John Bennett, passed away in May 1992.

Ruth is survived by her brother and sister in law: C. C. Griffin Jr. and his wife Norma, of Big Spring; by four children: son John Jr. and his wife, Sue Burns Bennett, of Houston; by her daughter Sarah Bennett and son in law, Robert R. Rothstein of Santa Fe, N.M.; by her son, William C. Bennett and his wife, Geri Blake, of St. Louis, MO; and by her youngest son, Charles M. Bennett and his wife Patricia Bennett, of Big Spring.

Ruth is survived by 10 grand children: Kelly B. Bennett and his wife Caroline Harsh Bennett, of Houston; Matthew Robert Bennett and his wife Katie Shackelford Bennett, of Houston; Caroline Nell Bennett, of Houston; Jacob Bennett Rothstein, of Santa Fe, N.M.; Ella Rose Rothstein, of Santa Fe, N.M.; Katherine Elaine Bennett, of San Antonio; Joseph Alexander Bennett, of St. Louis, MO; Emily Thomason, of Big Spring, Texas; Michelle Gregory, of Bonham, Texas; and Shane O'Brien, of Dallas.

Ruth has nine great grandchildren: John Owen Bennett, of Houston; John Harmon Bennett II, of Houston; Michael, Brittany, Kayla, and Matthew Gregory, of Bonham, Texas; and Caden, Eaisson, and London O'Brien, of Dallas.

All her life, Ruth cared for her friends. Ruth was not a person who wanted to control others. Ruth wanted to participate, not to dominate, and was always a giver, not a taker. Ruth was a conscientious worker; she never took sick leave unless she was ill, and she was pleased to take home extra work without seeking overtime pay. Ruth was quiet, steady, and never demanded to be the center of attention.

Above all, Ruth was a selfless mother who never failed to put the interests of her family before her own. She was a servant of the Lord. Ruth will be sorely missed on this Earth and gladly welcomed in the hereafter. May God rest her soul.