Obituary of William E. Bennett

Survivors include his wife, Emily, son Dr. Scott William Bennett and his wife Dr. Chinatsu Aone of Oakton, Virginia and nephews Dennis and Donald Bennett of Kansas. He was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers, Robert and Charles. Dr. Bennett was born on December 29,1923 in Eskridge, Kansas. He had lived in several Kansas towns during his early years. He was the son of Earl Glass Bennett and Mary Helen Young Bennett. He graduated from Sterling High School in Sterling, Kansas. He attended Sterling College in the same town for a year before enlisting in the Army where he served from 1943-46. He was a medical technician in the Medical Detachment, 43rd Tank Battalion and served in the Rhineland in Central Europe. He received the American Theater Ribbon, the EAMET Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal and the Victory Ribbon. He returned to Sterling College, receiving the B.S. degree in chemistry. He did his graduate work at the University of Kansas at Lawrence, and was awarded the Ph. D. degree in inorganic chemistry. His doctoral research was in ammonia complexes. In1951 he was a research associate at the Institute of Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago where he met his future wife, Emily. He married Emily Kindur in Oak Park, Illinois on June 28, 1952. From 1952-1953 he was a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1953 he accepted an appointment as assistant professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Iowa which brought him to Iowa City. He directed research and taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the University for 41 years. He began writing computer programs and used them in his work when this technology was yet in its early stages. Besides his articles for professional journals, he also published a laboratory manual for beginning chemistry students and wrote computer software to detect anomalies in test results. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Research Club, and University of Iowa Retirees Association. He retired as an Emeritus Professor in 1994. During his years of retirement he enjoyed traveling, playing bridge, working with computers, doing genealogical research and visiting with friends. He also volunteered at the Iowa City Senior Center and the Iowa City Public Library. He was a man that was very kind and considerate and supportive to his friends and his students. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sterling College, Sterling, Kansas, the American Cancer Society, 1-800-ACS-2345, or the Iowa City Senior Center, Iowa City.