Jeffrey Alan Bennett

Jeffrey Alan Bennett, age 45, passed away on May 13, 2026, leaving behind a life defined by adventure, loyalty, humor, and deep connection with the people fortunate enough to know him. Jeff was born on October 1, 1980, in Berkeley, California, and later moved to Plano, Texas, at 15 years old, where he built many of the lifelong friendships that remained important to him throughout his life.

From an early age, Jeff had a strong interest in sports, travel, and classic cars. In high school, auto shop classes deepened that passion while introducing him to many of the friends who would remain an important part of his life for years to come.

After high school, Jeff attended Texas Tech University, where he earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Finance and was a member of Kappa Sigma. After graduation, he pursued his CPA license and built a successful career specializing in international tax. His career and travels took him across the globe, including unforgettable experiences in Australia, Dubai, Fiji, Singapore, Prague and beyond.

Australia became an especially meaningful chapter in Jeff’s life. He built lifelong friendships there and remained closely connected to many of them for years. During his time abroad, he also co-owned a bar called The Wanderer, a fitting reflection of both his adventurous spirit and the relationships he built everywhere he went. Jeff returned to Australia every year to watch the Super Bowl with close friends and continue traditions that meant a great deal to him. He proudly won several fantasy football seasons over the years and joked often about the many more he lost. Distance was never a barrier for Jeff. He had a rare ability to maintain friendships across years, countries, and seasons of life, becoming what many considered a true collector of friendships.

Jeff later married and welcomed his two sons, Austin (13) and Lawson (11), who quickly became the center of his world. He treasured every opportunity to spend time with them, whether it was traveling, listening to Austin practice percussion, coaching Lawson’s flag football team, terrible dad jokes, bonding over music and movies, or cheering on the 49ers, being a dad was his greatest joy.

Jeff looked forward to sharing his love of travel with his boys and made it a priority to immerse them in international experiences from an early age. His ability to share his love of adventure with his boys, while equally embracing the passions and interests they shared with him, created a unique and meaningful bond between them. He intentionally crafted a life centered around creating special memories and experiences with them as early as possible.

He deeply enjoyed coaching Lawson and pouring into the local youth flag football leagues. He spent four seasons coaching in the Neighborhood Sports NFL Flag Football league, along with coaching in Rise Flag Football, Ulete, and Gridiron 7v7. His teams won three Super Bowls and were consistently highly ranked, but more than the wins, Jeff valued the relationships, competition, sideline conversations, and the unique celebration moments he shared with Lawson as both coach and father. Those memories meant more to him than any scoreboard ever could.

Despite his busy schedule, Jeff kept his passion for classic cars alive, always making time for the garage and sharing that passion with his others including his boys. He loved owning both of his favorite cars: his custom 1987 IROC-Z and his dream car, a 1988 Porsche 928 with a rare sunroof delete, inspired by the movie Risky Business.

For the past four and a half years, Jeff shared his life with his fiancée, Whitney. Together they built a relationship grounded in deep trust, laughter, adventure, and a rare connection that felt effortless from the start. Jeff also formed a special bond with Whitney’s children, Logan (9) and Kamryn (9), and deeply valued the life they were building together as a blended family. In recent months, Jeff and Whitney had been planning their wedding and narrowing down destinations that would allow friends and family from around the world to celebrate alongside them.

Jeff was unapologetically himself. He was authentic, dependable, trustworthy, and deeply loyal to the people he cared about. Easygoing by nature but never short on opinions, Jeff had a sharp sense of humor, sarcastic wit, and an ability to make people laugh in almost any situation. People always knew exactly where they stood with him, and those closest to him valued his raw honesty.

Jeff was the definition of a true friend. His friendships carried depth, history, and meaning. He set the bar high.

Jeff will be deeply missed as a devoted father, fiancé, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, coach, and friend. He leaves behind countless stories, laughs, friendships, and cherished memories that will live on through everyone fortunate enough to know and love him.

Jeff is survived by his sons, Austin and Lawson; his fiancée, Whitney Cox; his mother, Carolyn Campanile; his father, James Bennett; his stepmother, Tracy Zell-Bennett; his brother, Joshua Bennett of Grass Valley, California; and his stepsister, Nicole Rocca. He is also survived by his aunts and uncles: Tom and Karen Bennett of Stamford, Connecticut; Ann Bennett of San Leandro, California; Mary Bennett of Oakland, California; Paul and Rhoda Bennett of Albany, California; Glenn and Laura Campanile; as well as his close cousins, Nicholas and Allison Campanile.