Michael Jesse Bennett passed away in his sleep on December 31, 2019, the morning after his fifty-first wedding anniversary, at the age of ninety.
Michael was born in Salt Lake City on April 29, 1929, son of Emily Higgs and Harold H. Bennett, and one of eight children. He graduated in 1946, from East High School. Michael served a two-year LDS mission in England and married Florence Marie Gates in 1951, with whom he had seven children (later divorced).
He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War. After completing his military service, Michael graduated from the University of Utah in 1954 with a B.S. in Marketing. Following in the family business, Michael pursued a career in retail and was accepted into New York University Graduate School of Retail, graduating third in his class in 1955. Steadily advancing his career over the next twenty-three years, Michael worked with department stores from New York to Salt Lake City. In 1954, he pushed for and hired — against a national backdrop of high racial tensions — the first African American employed by Lord and Taylor in New York.
In 1968, while living in Pittsburgh, Michael met Janet Petrey and quickly realized that she was the love of his life. They married in December of 1968, and for fifty-one years remained madly in love. With a combined family of ten children, they moved back to Salt Lake City and bought a home in Michael's old neighborhood of Gilmer Park, where they lived for forty-eight years.
In 1978, he left retail to pursue his true calling as an actor. From that point until his death, Michael consistently worked, appearing in numerous films and professional theatre venues, and doing countless voiceovers and narrations. He is also known for his one-man shows, which he wrote, and performed into his last year.
In addition to acting, Michael loved music, performing in and conducting every configuration of vocal performance, from solo to choir. His final musical performance took place on his ninetieth birthday, when he conducted a choir in sacrament meeting, comprised of his family members, from children to great-grandchildren.
No matter what else was happening in his life, Michael put his family and faith first. He held multiple church callings, and was always willing to accept another. He was a lover of learning and reading, and was never at a loss for the right word, phrase, or insight. Michael was a man of great character, charity, intellect, and empathy, and had a laugh that filled the room and shook the very atmosphere until everyone else laughed with him. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends, and anyone who knew him or watched him perform.
He is survived by his dear wife, Janet; brother, Stephen (Susan); children, Michele, Mark (Jacque) Petrey, Christopher (Angelika), Karee Petrey (Scott) Cannon, Hal (Claudia), Rose-Marie (Gordon) Smith, Franklin (Alison Barker), Nick (Jen), Creighton (Tricia) Petrey, and Geoffrey (Tiffin); thirty-five grandchildren; and sixty-one great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the Yale Ward Building, 1431 East Gilmer Drive (1000 South), Salt Lake City. Viewings will be held on Monday, January 6, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, and prior to the services at the church on Tuesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Interment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News on January 5, 2020.
Michael was born in Salt Lake City on April 29, 1929, son of Emily Higgs and Harold H. Bennett, and one of eight children. He graduated in 1946, from East High School. Michael served a two-year LDS mission in England and married Florence Marie Gates in 1951, with whom he had seven children (later divorced).
He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War. After completing his military service, Michael graduated from the University of Utah in 1954 with a B.S. in Marketing. Following in the family business, Michael pursued a career in retail and was accepted into New York University Graduate School of Retail, graduating third in his class in 1955. Steadily advancing his career over the next twenty-three years, Michael worked with department stores from New York to Salt Lake City. In 1954, he pushed for and hired — against a national backdrop of high racial tensions — the first African American employed by Lord and Taylor in New York.
In 1968, while living in Pittsburgh, Michael met Janet Petrey and quickly realized that she was the love of his life. They married in December of 1968, and for fifty-one years remained madly in love. With a combined family of ten children, they moved back to Salt Lake City and bought a home in Michael's old neighborhood of Gilmer Park, where they lived for forty-eight years.
In 1978, he left retail to pursue his true calling as an actor. From that point until his death, Michael consistently worked, appearing in numerous films and professional theatre venues, and doing countless voiceovers and narrations. He is also known for his one-man shows, which he wrote, and performed into his last year.
In addition to acting, Michael loved music, performing in and conducting every configuration of vocal performance, from solo to choir. His final musical performance took place on his ninetieth birthday, when he conducted a choir in sacrament meeting, comprised of his family members, from children to great-grandchildren.
No matter what else was happening in his life, Michael put his family and faith first. He held multiple church callings, and was always willing to accept another. He was a lover of learning and reading, and was never at a loss for the right word, phrase, or insight. Michael was a man of great character, charity, intellect, and empathy, and had a laugh that filled the room and shook the very atmosphere until everyone else laughed with him. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends, and anyone who knew him or watched him perform.
He is survived by his dear wife, Janet; brother, Stephen (Susan); children, Michele, Mark (Jacque) Petrey, Christopher (Angelika), Karee Petrey (Scott) Cannon, Hal (Claudia), Rose-Marie (Gordon) Smith, Franklin (Alison Barker), Nick (Jen), Creighton (Tricia) Petrey, and Geoffrey (Tiffin); thirty-five grandchildren; and sixty-one great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the Yale Ward Building, 1431 East Gilmer Drive (1000 South), Salt Lake City. Viewings will be held on Monday, January 6, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, and prior to the services at the church on Tuesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Interment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News on January 5, 2020.
Michael Jesse Bennett passed away in his sleep on December 31, 2019, the morning after his fifty-first wedding anniversary, at the age of ninety.
Michael was born in Salt Lake City on April 29, 1929, son of Emily Higgs and Harold H. Bennett, and one of eight children. He graduated in 1946, from East High School. Michael served a two-year LDS mission in England and married Florence Marie Gates in 1951, with whom he had seven children (later divorced).
He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War. After completing his military service, Michael graduated from the University of Utah in 1954 with a B.S. in Marketing. Following in the family business, Michael pursued a career in retail and was accepted into New York University Graduate School of Retail, graduating third in his class in 1955. Steadily advancing his career over the next twenty-three years, Michael worked with department stores from New York to Salt Lake City. In 1954, he pushed for and hired — against a national backdrop of high racial tensions — the first African American employed by Lord and Taylor in New York.
In 1968, while living in Pittsburgh, Michael met Janet Petrey and quickly realized that she was the love of his life. They married in December of 1968, and for fifty-one years remained madly in love. With a combined family of ten children, they moved back to Salt Lake City and bought a home in Michael's old neighborhood of Gilmer Park, where they lived for forty-eight years.
In 1978, he left retail to pursue his true calling as an actor. From that point until his death, Michael consistently worked, appearing in numerous films and professional theatre venues, and doing countless voiceovers and narrations. He is also known for his one-man shows, which he wrote, and performed into his last year.
In addition to acting, Michael loved music, performing in and conducting every configuration of vocal performance, from solo to choir. His final musical performance took place on his ninetieth birthday, when he conducted a choir in sacrament meeting, comprised of his family members, from children to great-grandchildren.
No matter what else was happening in his life, Michael put his family and faith first. He held multiple church callings, and was always willing to accept another. He was a lover of learning and reading, and was never at a loss for the right word, phrase, or insight. Michael was a man of great character, charity, intellect, and empathy, and had a laugh that filled the room and shook the very atmosphere until everyone else laughed with him. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends, and anyone who knew him or watched him perform.
He is survived by his dear wife, Janet; brother, Stephen (Susan); children, Michele, Mark (Jacque) Petrey, Christopher (Angelika), Karee Petrey (Scott) Cannon, Hal (Claudia), Rose-Marie (Gordon) Smith, Franklin (Alison Barker), Nick (Jen), Creighton (Tricia) Petrey, and Geoffrey (Tiffin); thirty-five grandchildren; and sixty-one great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the Yale Ward Building, 1431 East Gilmer Drive (1000 South), Salt Lake City. Viewings will be held on Monday, January 6, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, and prior to the services at the church on Tuesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Interment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News on January 5, 2020.
Michael was born in Salt Lake City on April 29, 1929, son of Emily Higgs and Harold H. Bennett, and one of eight children. He graduated in 1946, from East High School. Michael served a two-year LDS mission in England and married Florence Marie Gates in 1951, with whom he had seven children (later divorced).
He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War. After completing his military service, Michael graduated from the University of Utah in 1954 with a B.S. in Marketing. Following in the family business, Michael pursued a career in retail and was accepted into New York University Graduate School of Retail, graduating third in his class in 1955. Steadily advancing his career over the next twenty-three years, Michael worked with department stores from New York to Salt Lake City. In 1954, he pushed for and hired — against a national backdrop of high racial tensions — the first African American employed by Lord and Taylor in New York.
In 1968, while living in Pittsburgh, Michael met Janet Petrey and quickly realized that she was the love of his life. They married in December of 1968, and for fifty-one years remained madly in love. With a combined family of ten children, they moved back to Salt Lake City and bought a home in Michael's old neighborhood of Gilmer Park, where they lived for forty-eight years.
In 1978, he left retail to pursue his true calling as an actor. From that point until his death, Michael consistently worked, appearing in numerous films and professional theatre venues, and doing countless voiceovers and narrations. He is also known for his one-man shows, which he wrote, and performed into his last year.
In addition to acting, Michael loved music, performing in and conducting every configuration of vocal performance, from solo to choir. His final musical performance took place on his ninetieth birthday, when he conducted a choir in sacrament meeting, comprised of his family members, from children to great-grandchildren.
No matter what else was happening in his life, Michael put his family and faith first. He held multiple church callings, and was always willing to accept another. He was a lover of learning and reading, and was never at a loss for the right word, phrase, or insight. Michael was a man of great character, charity, intellect, and empathy, and had a laugh that filled the room and shook the very atmosphere until everyone else laughed with him. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends, and anyone who knew him or watched him perform.
He is survived by his dear wife, Janet; brother, Stephen (Susan); children, Michele, Mark (Jacque) Petrey, Christopher (Angelika), Karee Petrey (Scott) Cannon, Hal (Claudia), Rose-Marie (Gordon) Smith, Franklin (Alison Barker), Nick (Jen), Creighton (Tricia) Petrey, and Geoffrey (Tiffin); thirty-five grandchildren; and sixty-one great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the Yale Ward Building, 1431 East Gilmer Drive (1000 South), Salt Lake City. Viewings will be held on Monday, January 6, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, Salt Lake City, and prior to the services at the church on Tuesday from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Interment at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Published in the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News on January 5, 2020.
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