Richard “Dick” Studley Bennett, 90, of Mooresville, N.C., passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
He was born on December 6, 1935, in Riverside, N.J., the second son to Robert S and Florence Ella (Howe) Bennett. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Mattapoisett, Mass. Dick attended Mattapoisett Grade School through the seventh grade. The family moved to Auburn, Mass., and Dick completed his grade school education at Julia Bancroft School before graduating from Auburn High School in 1954. He went on to graduate from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., with a degree in Machine Construction and Tool Design. He also attended Clark University in Worcester, Mass,, and later graduated from Assumption College’s School of Industrial Management, also in Worcester.
Dick married his high school sweetheart, Virginia (Ginny) Duvall, on September 8th, 1956. Ginny and Dick moved to Port Credit, Ontario, Canada, where he managed New England Valve Corp. of Canada until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1959. Upon completion of his basic training and Army Administration School at Ft. Dix, N.J., Dick received a Top Secret Security Clearance and a Top Secret (Q) Atomic Energy Commission clearance and was selected as one of two (out of the 96,153 men drafted into the Army in 1959) to be assigned to the Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C., where he handled the release of classified material to the British Commonwealth Nations. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in 1965, with the rank of Specialist E6.
Dick joined the Heald Machine Co., Division of Cincinnati Milacron Corp in 1965 as a Sales Proposal Engineer. He later became a Regional Product Manager for the Southeastern United States. He transferred to Cincinnati Milacron as a Sales Engineer and was based in Charlotte, N.C. He later returned to the Heald Division as Export Sales Manager, where he traveled extensively worldwide for several years. Through his travels, Dick visited 45 of the 50 sates in the U.S. and 37 foreign countries.
Dick left Cincinnati/Heald to assume the position of Vice President and Southeast Manager at Rudel Machinery Co. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Machine Tool Distributors Association. He also served as the AMTDA representative to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Dick retired as the Manager of Machine Tools Inc. in 1990.
He was very proud to be of the Presbyterian faith and was a long-time member of Prospect Presbyterian Church. Dick was an ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church. He served two terms as a Deacon and four terms as an Elder. Dick was awaiting his induction into Prospect’s Hall of Fame as an honored member after his 90th birthday.
Shortly after the end of World War II, as the United States recovered and new cars and gasoline became available, automobile racing became popular. Dick became an avid fan of all forms of auto racing, following them throughout his adult life. Dick enjoyed many fall race weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway with his sons and friends from as far away as New England. Doing so became a family tradition, and it was there that Dick’s love of cooking pork BBQ was born.
Dick enjoyed restoring old cars and trucks with his boys. He took great pleasure in working in his woodworking shop, where he created many family heirlooms, some of which Ginny painted and gold-leafed for the enjoyment of family and friends. He also had a passion for old clocks, and while living in the Greensboro area, he built the grandfather clock that remains in the family home today.
Dick was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife of 64 years, Ginny Bennett. He is survived by two sons, Robert (Bob) Studley II and wife Stephanie, and Glenn Edward and wife Donna; and three grandchildren, Robert (Rob) Studley Bennett III and fiancée Carrie Stephens, Jenna Sue Bennett, and Noah Glenn Bennett; Dick’s sister, F. Tenney and her husband Raymond C. Lantz, and Dick’s brother-in-law, Kenneth E. Johnson and wife Gwenn. Dick was preceded in death by his mother, father, and his older brother, Doctor Edwin H. Bennett.
Funeral services will be held at Prospect Presbyterian Church on April 25, 2026, at 11 a.m. with burial to follow in the church cemetery beside his loving wife Ginny. Family will receive friends and relatives at Prospect an hour prior to the funeral service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Prospect Presbyterian Church, American Legion Post #66, or the Lake Norman Humane Society.
Cavin-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory, Mooresville, is serving the Bennett family. Condolences may be made to the family at www.cavin-cook.com.