Pastor Sidney E. Bennett, 74, a resident of Fort Wayne, was pronounced dead on arrival on Friday, June 19, 2009 at 9:00 p. m. at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne after suffering an apparent heart attack at the family residence in Washington Township.
Pastor Bennett was born on February 27, 1935 in Evansville, a son of Sidney and Deloris (Gentry) Bennett, and spent his formative years in Oakland City, Indiana. A man having three different careers, he served his country for 20 years in both the U. S. Marine Corps and the U. S. Army Reserves. Employed as a safety engineer at General Motors in Martinsburg, West Virginia for 13 years, he retired from there in 1981.
At age 47 he answered God’s call to the ministry, and attended Boyce Bible College at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He served two churches, the last being New Hope Community Church in Fort Wayne, retiring from there there . He was later asked to return to the church, and had been its pastor emeritus for the past four years.
