George Carlton Bennett

George was born June 11, 1944 on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, in the town of Cambridge, a place he held dear and returned to frequently for visits and high school reunions, He was raised by his devoted Aunt Lu and Uncle Earl Wallace. His work life began early with delivering newspapers from his bicycle and by age 15 he was able acquire a bank loan under his own signature and purchase his first car.

At age 31, George joined the U.S. Army and spent 8 years active duty until he was forced out by diabetes. Fortunately, he was able to return to the same post as a civilian and spent another 22 years working for the military doing what he loved. He retired in 2007 from Fort Leonard Wood but had also enjoyed his time at Fort Riley, Kansas, Fort Belvoir, Virginia and also in in Mannheim, Germany, where he signed up for multiple tours of duty.

George loved to drive and he and his wife Carol spent their retirement years exploring the United States, visiting family, historic sites and movie locations, interests they shared. They also made trips to Alaska, Canada and Germany together.

Music, specifically classic country and oldies rock-n-roll was his first love. He began singing by age six, listening to Hank Williams’ tunes on the wind-up victrola in his Aunt’s living room. As an adult he was particularly proud of having performed for the Brigadier General's Fasching Party in Germany. In retirement, under the name of “Just George” he performed at wineries, retirement homes, farmer’s markets, local festivals and, famously, on his front porch during Covid and for the neighborhood’s annual garage sales. When he could no longer perform, he continued to sing at home and on a daily basis would sing Sunday Morning Coming Down as he went about his morning routine in his wheelchair.

In addition to music and travel, George was a competitive bowler, an avid stock trader (proudly earning the title of “dividend king”), a lifelong birdwatcher, and a lover of animals, especially his cat Patches, though he remained loyal to his previous pets, Wizard and Buppy.

George truly loved his family, always wanting to be there for them, and over a period of years even provided a home to several of his grandchildren. Because of his unique ability to comfort a colicky child, he became known as “the baby whisperer”. He was known for his patience, his optimism and his humility. He especially appreciated the loving attention of his sons while he was in hospice care, when daily calls and frequent visits enabled them to deepen their relationships. He took creative advantage of his time in hospice to both write a detailed biography and compose “The Dying Man’s Blues”, a charming piece which is accessible under Vimeo.com under that title.

George leaves behind his devoted wife, Carol Snyder, his loving sons, George Bennett, Jr. (Lisa), Andrew (Jennifer) Bennett and Josh Bennet his stepchildren Nancy (Jared) Schultz, Max (Maria) Miller; John (Nicole) Snyder and Elizabeth (Jason) Lutz. He is also survived by his daughter Donna Schmitz, his sister Aliceann Todd, his niece Dawn Price, Grandchildren, Elizabeth (Derik) Evans, Leslie Fore, Justin Stansky, Ashley, Melissa and Jonathan Andrews, and step grandchildren, Gage Cook, Blue, Lorenzo, Mateo, Nico, Eli, Lucy, Lexi, and Justin, and Great Grandchildren Leyton, Taylor, Chiyan, Chloe, Wyatt Olivia, Nellie and Thatcher, all of whom loved him dearly.

A visitation will be held on February 7, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Kriegshauser Mortuary-West Chapel, located at 9450 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63132.

The funeral service will follow at the same location, beginning at 2:00 pm.