Ruth Matilda Templeman Bennett

Ruth Matilda Templeman Bennett

Ruth Matilda Templeman was born March 12, 1920 in Laurens, SC. She was the daughter of the late Dr. Samuel Huntington Templeman and his wife Inez Gertrude Barnes. Her father was a Baptist minister so the family moved several times, first to Elizabeth City, NC and finally to Winston-Salem, NC, where Dr. Templeman was the minister of Brown Memorial Baptist Church. While growing up in Winston-Salem, Ruth attended grammar school and Salem Academy for high school. She attended Salem College for one year before transferring to Furman University where she graduated in 1941.

Shortly after World War II broke out she went to work for the American Red Cross and was stationed in Daytona Beach, FL. At the end of the war she transferred to Atlanta, GA. She met her future husband, William Francis (Frank) Bennett on a blind date. He was a graduate of Georgia Tech and had served on a submarine in the Navy. They were married on February 8, 1947 at Druid Hills Baptist Church. They made their home in Decatur until they built their dream home in the Sagamore Hills neighborhood of Atlanta in 1957.

Ruth was an active member of the First Baptist Church Atlanta for over 50 years. She was a member of the adult choir and volunteered for In Touch Ministries. Ruth loved working in her yard and cutting grass and planting into her nineties.

For the last five years Ruth has been a resident of Magnolia Estates Assisted Living Care in Elberton, GA. She passed away on May 11, 2020 after a brief stay at St. Mary’s Hospice House in Watkinsville, GA.

She was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Gertrude Gladding and Inez Lytle Ferrill, brother Sam Templeman, grandson Paul Bennett, and her husband of 55 years. She is survived by her children William Francis (Bill) Bennett, Jr. and wife Barbara of Elberton, GA; John Cleveland (Jack) Bennett and wife Sharon of Greensboro, NC; and Martha Carolyn Houseworth and husband Steve of Shreveport, LA. Other surviving relatives include her grandchildren Jennifer Bennett, Michael Bennett, Lauren Houseworth, John Bennett and wife Rachel, and William Bennett along with numerous nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at Floral Hills Memory Gardens in Tucker, GA on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.

Mrs. Bennett will lie in state at Berry Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 13, from 9:00a.m.-4:00p.m. for those wishing to pay their respects and sign the guest register.

Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church Atlanta or Magnolia Estates Assisted Living Care.

Those wishing may sign the online guestbook at www.berryfh.com.

Berry Funeral Home & Crematory of Elberton is respectfully in charge of arrangements for Mrs. Ruth Matilda Templeman Bennett.