Willard Benbrook

Rev. Willard Benbrook, age 86, of Mt. Vernon, passed away on Friday, September 14, 2012, at the Lawrence County Manor. He was born May 4, 1926, in Hutchinson, Kan., the son of Roscoe and Felma (Rose) Benbrook. He graduated from Mt. Vernon High School and attended college at Southwest Baptist College and Seminary at Oklahoma Baptist University. Willard was a World War II U.S. Army veteran, drove a school bus in Tebbetts, worked as a letter carrier for the post office, and was a farmer, however, he was most widely known for his work as a Baptist minister. He ministered at several Baptist church's including Ebenezer, Tebbetts, Curtis Chapel, New Hope, Hopewell, Chesaepeake, and eventually retiring as the associate pastor for the First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon where he was a 38-year member. On June 5, 1955, he married Venita Neely in Tebbetts. Those surviving him include: his wife of 57 years, Venita; three sons, Ronald Duane of Mt. Vernon, Larry Dean of Pennsboro and Lynn Ray Benbrook of Mt. Vernon; three daughters, Irma Gail Grubaugh of Mt. Vernon, Joyce Marie Towe of Billings; Sandra Kaye Brown of Miller; nine grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren. His parents and two brothers, Leo Carl and William Clifford Benbrook, preceded him in death. A funeral service, under the direction of the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 17, 2012, at the First Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon with burial at Pritchett Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 16, in the funeral home chapel. Memorial donations may be made to Pritchett Cemetery in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at www.FossettMosherFuneralHome.com.