John L. Bennett OBITUARY

John has joined his beloved Marian, wife of 57 years, in heaven. Loving father to David and Margaret (Todd Wangsness), and adoring Papa to Luke and James, he survived numerous illnesses including polio and TB before he was valedictorian at Burroughs School in China Lake (1952). John went on to earn a degree in Engineering Science from Stanford in 1959. It was there that he met his dear Marian, joined the Phi Sigs and made lifelong friends. He then earned his Masters in Electrical Engineering from MIT and began his 30 year career with IBM’s Research Division (both at the Cottle Road site and later Almaden), settling in San Jose in the early 1960s.Despite walking with crutches and later being confined to a wheelchair due to post-polio challenges, John loved traveling the world with IBM (Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, England as well as frequent trips to IBM’s Research Center in NY). His work focused on “usability engineering” making computers more accessible to people. At home he was a fixer-upper, a plumber, an auto mechanic and a handyman. If something broke, he’d engineer a way to fix it. He loved clocks, antique cars, and steam trains. For decades he and Marian had a cabin in the redwoods outside Mendocino where he’d take the family many weekends. He enjoyed tinkering in the pumphouse and using his chain saw and ax to prepare firewood from downed trees on the property. It was the Skunk steam engine that originally drew them to that area. Family and friends were very important to John. He would plan trips to see relatives in Arizona and Colorado, and college friends around the country. He appreciated monthly Zoom calls with the Phi Sigs. He corresponded with many via email and got his first iphone and learned to text at age 89. John loved cheering at his grandson’s soccer games and when they were young, he regularly took them on outings to local museums and zoos. We have so many happy memories with him and he will be missed dearly. We are grateful to Bou for her faith, compassionate care and understanding which allowed John to live independently until the very end.John will be remembered for his intelligence, loyalty, strength and determination. He was a loving, kind and generous man who saw each day as a gift from God. He and Marian were founding members of Transfiguration Catholic Church. A Memorial Mass will be held in June. Contact [email protected] for more information.