John Carlton Bennett, 89, Air Force Veteran, Firefighter, & Police Officer

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FRAMINGHAM – John Carlton Bennett, 89, of Oro Valley, AZ, died peacefully at home on Saturday, October 23, 2021.

He was born in Wrentham, MA on December 24, 1931, and was the son of the late Simon and Doris (Ormes)Bennett. 

Educated in Wrentham, MA, schools, he graduated from Wrentham High School on June 15, 1949.

John served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America during the Korean War and was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force in September of 1952.  Prior to beginning his long career in law enforcement, John worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse after receiving his diploma from the Soldiers’ Home School for Practical Nurses in Chelsea, MA, in 1958.

His law enforcement career began when he joined the Sherborn Police Department in MA in the 1960’s.  John also served as a firefighter on the Sherborn Fire Department during these years.  He then relocated to New Hampshire, first joining the Amherst Police Department, then the Merrimack Police Department.  John retired in 1981 from the Merrimack Police Department as a Detective Lieutenant. 

Following retirement, he rejoined the Amherst Police Department as a part-time officer, and started his own successful business, Merrimack Valley Landscaping.  In 1984, he and his wife Jackie moved from Merrimack to Pittsburg, NH, purchasing and operating a general store.  Shortly thereafter, he went to work as a Deputy Sheriff for the Coös County Sheriff’s Department, and as a part-time officer for the Colebrook Police Department.  In 1990, they moved to Tucson, AZ and later to Oro Valley, AZ, spending several years volunteering at Catalina State Park.

Anyone who knew John was touched by his love of nature, especially trees, his honesty, his strong work ethic, his leadership in all his endeavors, and most of all, his love of country and what the American Flag stood for.  He was an entrepreneur who never shied away from a challenge. 

John is survived by his loving wife of 42 years, Jacqueline (Sylvestre) Bennett, of Oro Valley, AZ.  In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughter Lisa Patterson (Mark) of Pascoag, RI; daughter Tracy Nett (John) of Manville, RI; son John Bennett, Jr., of Hopkinton, MA; stepdaughter April Anderson (John) of Croydon, NH; stepson Brian Hamelin of Jefferson, NH; and stepson Craig Hamelin (Tina) of Colebrook, NH; one sister, Marion Clover, of S. Attleboro, MA; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

John was predeceased by two sisters, Marjorie Greenleaf of Sudbury, MA in 2014, and Diane Boucher (Jerry), of Norfolk, MA in 2020. 

John was cremated at Vistoso Funeral Home in Oro Valley, AZ.  His remains will be placed in a columbarium niche located in the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, NH.