Former Lowndes commission chairman Bennett dies
Apr. 22—VALDOSTA — Former Lowndes County Commission chairman G. Norman Bennett, 87, died Saturday.
He passed away after a period of ill health, his obituary said.
He was born May 8, 1936, in Adel and graduated from Valdosta High School. He served in the Marine Corps.
He received a bachelor's degree in business from Valdosta State College and an MBA from Florida Atlantic University. He worked for more than four decades at the Owens-Illinois paper mill in Clyattville, retiring from O-I's successor, Packaging Corporation of America, in 2005.
Bennett served on the Lowndes County Commission for 20 years, from 1977-1997. He was vice chairman for 16 years and chairman for the final four years.
He serviced on the boards of the United Way, the Heart Fund and the March of Dimes, as well as the VSU Foundation Board. He served on the state Personnel Board for five years and the Valdosta-Lowndes Industrial Authorities from 2010-2014.
He also ran for the state Senate and the state House of Representatives.
Bennett worked with both Wiregrass and Moultrie Technical Colleges promoting the Work Ready Certification Initiative.
Bennett served on several committees of Crossroads Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife, Robin Moran Bennett; his sisters, Marjorie McDonald (Ernest), Louise Leonetti, and LaVerne Jackson; his sisters-in-law, Paula Lynn Moran Williams (Ronnie), Pamela Moran Adams and Judy Moran McDaniel; his brothers-in-law, Keith Moran (Betsy) and James Moran; his sons, Scott Bennett (Becky), Kyle Leisey (Cindy) and Trent Leisey (Amber); his daughters, Tracy Bennett Hall (J.R. Lorens), Erin Leisey Moore (Adam) and Holly Bennett Mitchell (Matt); his grandchildren: Tanner, Lorelei and Jake Bennett, Kenny Hall and Justin Lorens, Laine Jackson O'Neal (Cale), Kale, Kyleigh, and Kaden Leisey, Charles and Brooks Moore, Hunter Griffin and Jace Leisey, Reid and Beau Mitchell; his great- grandchildren, Kennedy and Connor O'Neal,; his former wife Martha Bragg Wynn; and several nieces and nephews.
Services were held Monday at Crossroads Baptist Church with burial at Friendship Cemetery.
Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.
