Walter Waldo Bennett
July 4, 1893 - March 28, 1963

Birthplace Manning
Rank Private
Branch Army
Military Unit Base Hospital
Military Service Camp Dodge, Polk, Iowa

Buried in the Manning Cemetery with his parents, Fred and Clara (Branson) Bennett, and another son, Robert Bennett
Walter was married to Evelyn Fay Bennett
He was born in Manning and died at Spencer, Iowa.

Walter W. Bennett Walter Waldo Bennett was born on July 4, 1893, in Manning, Iowa, to Fred and Clara Bennett. The Bennett family soon moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where Walter attended grade school and then high school. After graduation, Walter attended Grinnell College and graduated in 1917 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

After graduation he enrolled in the military, serving as an instructor in radiology for the Army Medical Corps in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.

In 1922, Bennett returned to Sioux City, Iowa, where he started working in real estate and insurance.

Walter married and had two daughters, Joyce and Marilyn.

Bennett went on to publish many articles on birding and became known for his photography in the field.

In 1924, Walter Rosene and Walter Bennett went on a three week trip to North Dakota, where the pair documented 292 species. This trip resulted in a collection of lantern slides, which Bennett took home and hand colored for Rosene. Bennett traveled across the country, giving lectures and using his photographs and films to educate the masses. While teaching at the University of California, Walter married again and had two more children, Branson and Lawrence.

Walter suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1959 and suffered reoccurring strokes after. On March 28, 1963, Walter Bennett died in Spencer Municipal Hospital, in Spencer Iowa.
Record Source: Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives