In Memoriam: Michael (Mick) Bennett

Michael (Mick) Canville Bennett, age 75, passed away on July 29, 2016, at his residence in Anderson, S.C. Born in Fairfax, Okla., on Sept. 17, 1940, and reared in Ellensburg, Wash., Bennett, husband of Kathleen McManus (Kate) Bennett, TAPPI Chair from 2002-2005 and Vice-Chair from 1998-2003, was the son of the late Oliver Joseph Bennett and the late Anne Laura Aker Bennett. He was a member of the Osage Nation, and a graduate of Gonzaga University. He attended Law School at George Washington University.

Mick was commissioned in the U.S. Navy where he worked in highly classified intelligence. During two tours in Vietnam, he earned 18 awards, including two Bronze Stars with combat "V," two Air Medals with combat "V," the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Oak Leaf Custer, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

He then moved to Washington, D.C., and worked on both sides of the aisle—initially, as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) and U.S. Congresswoman Julia Butler Hanson (D-WA), and later for Congressman Jim Longley (R-ME), and others. During the next 30 years, he worked in the U.S Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and, briefly, the Virginia Senate in legislation, media relations, and staff management, and managed several Republican legislative campaigns.

In addition to his wife Kathleen, Mick is survived by his children, Michael Canville Bennett II, of Anderson, S.C., Kevin Aker Bennett, of St. Louis, Mo., and Keenan Bennett Hall and her husband Bill Hall, of Alexandria, Va.; a sister, Billie Jo Sorenson, and her husband Joe, of Palm Desert, Calif.; two grandchildren, Emily Anne and Alexander William Hall; and several special nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Barbara Madzuma.

Kathleen Bennett, principal of Bennett Consulting LLC, has extensive ties to the pulp and paper industry, including previous positions as: VP, Government Affairs, Communications, and Environment at Bowater; VP, Investment Portfolio Management/SOx Lead, IT Dept. (previously, VP Resource Management) at Georgia-Pacific; and VP Environment, Safety & Health at Fort James Corp. (formerly James River). She was Assistant Administrator, Air, Noise, and Radiation, for the U.S. EPA from May 1981 to May 1983.

Funeral Services were held yesterday (Aug. 3, 2016) at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, Va. Interment followed at Columbia Gardens in Arlington. A memorial in Anderson, S.C., will follow later in August (approximately August 15).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Pulmonary Paper, or to the Civil Air Patrol. 

A message of condolence may be sent online to the McDougald Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Anderson, S.C. In addition, Kathleen's email address is Kathleen@BennettLLC.net. Her home address is 1027 Pintail Point, Anderson, S.C. 29626.