James P. Bennett (obituary)

BENNETT, JAMES PEPPER, 86, of St. Petersburg, formerly of Clearwater, died Saturday (May 8, 2004) at St. Anthony’s Hospital. Born in Jessup, Ga., he moved to Clearwater in 1921 and later moved to St. Petersburg. He graduated from St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of Florida and played tennis for both college teams. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law and was an attorney and a partner at Skelton, Willis, Bennett & Wallace from 1948 until 2001.

He was an Army veteran and retired from the Army Reserves as a Major. During World War II, he served for two years in General Eisenhower’s headquarters with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force of the Psychological Warfare Division. After the war, he was involved in the rebuilding of Berlin. He was a life member and past President of the St. Petersburg Bar Association and a member of the Florida Bar, the American Bar Association and the American College of Estate and Trust Counsel. He was a life member of the St. Petersburg Junior College Association, a member of the Phi Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He was a member of First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg and a former member of its board of trustees.

He was a former deacon, trustee and Sunday school teacher at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. He was a past president and 50 year member of the Kiwanis Club of St. Petersburg and a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Egypt Shrine Temple, the Suncoasters, the Science Center, where he also was a past board member, the Red Cross, the Lakewood Country Club and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. He was the recipient of the Senior Citizen Award from the City of Clearwater. He played tennis, was a trained singer and enjoyed opera and classical music.–Obituary from the St. Petersburg Times

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