Family was her number one love
NORTH READING — Aldeane Reed Bennett, 81, (Aldeane Eleanor Reed), born in New London, Conn., on April 15, 1942 and married to Alan Bruce Bennett for 62 years, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at High Pointe Hospice House in Haverhill on April 2, 2024.
She answered to many names: Deanie, Sis, Sistah, Mom, Mom Bennett, Mrs. B, Grandma, Mema, Auntie Dee and friend.
As a child, Deanie wanted nothing more than to be a devoted and loving wife and mother. She proudly embraced this role and accomplished that goal many times over; resuming that role whenever someone was sick and in need.
In her younger years, having grown up in Mystic, Conn., she could be found roller skating around Mystic. She graduated from Stonington High School. After she and Alan were wedded on August 19, 1961, they began raising a family. During the summer months she could be found taking her family to Wingaersheek Beach or Stage Fort Park in Gloucester…any excuse to have a picnic.
Family was her number one love; her first priority. Her friends became family, her children’s friends became family. Family gatherings meant picnics! As the wife of an Army soldier she lived in several locations around the country. None of that mattered so long as Alan and her children were beside her. In 1972 Deanie and Alan settled in North Reading where they flourished and raised their four children; turning the house into a home full of love and memories.
She was a devoted member of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and enjoyed time with the other Church-Moms prepping for pot luck dinners or crafting for the church fair and beautifying the church at Christmas time with the annual”hanging of the greens.” She was a representative for Doll Face canvas bags and embroidery. She was supportive of her children’s Scouting activities. And lately, a member of the Wakefield-Lynnfield United Methodist Church.
Deanie’s hands were equally never idle. At a young age those hands learned to play the flute, knitted, macraméd, sewed, quilted, baked and decorated cakes for many weddings and special occasions, shucked peas with her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law and crafted innumerable things with love.
She loved the beach, the ocean, sailing on the “VERANJO,” her yard, the gardens, the flowers and the wildlife, but, woe be to the woodchucks that crossed that fence line! She loved all aspects of yardwork (so long as Alan was there to clean up the piles).
As an animal lover it was only natural that she took up employment at the Animal Hospital of Wakefield as a receptionist where she worked for many years.
She is survived by her loving and devoted husband Alan Bennett; daughter, Lezlie and her husband Steven Gallagher; her three sons, Bruce and his wife Vicki; Andrew and his wife Ester; and Matthew and his wife Meredith; her brother, Walter Reed III; her nine grandchildren, Elizabeth, Aaron, Adam, Elias, Kylie, Thora, Tristan, Ethan and Evelyn, and her great-grandchildren, Jack and Bennett.
Calling hours will be held on Friday, April 26 at 10 a.m. at the Wakefield-Lynnfield United Methodist Church, 273 Vernon St., Wakefield, MA 01880, followed by an 11 a.m. service. Immediately following will be the burial of ashes at the Riverside Cemetery off Elm Street in North Reading. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit croswellfuneralhome.com.
