Evelyn Rose Bennett, 80, of Eau Claire died at 5 a.m. Monday at her home after an eight-month illness.

Born in Upper Glade, Webster County, W.Va., Nov. 8, 1927, she was a daughter of Boyd and Myrtle Morris Knight.

She had worked at the Slippery Rock Garden Apartments for 25 years and retired in 1994.

Mrs. Bennett was a Protestant. She enjoyed her grandchildren, gardening and reading.

Surviving are two sons, Kermit Larry Bennett of New Castle and William Lester Bennett of Leesburg; a stepson, Freeman B. Bennett of Parkersburg, W.Va.; five daughters, Violet Leonard of Cambridge, Ohio, Suzanne Arblaster of Prospect, Frances Holmes of Plain Grove, Kathryn Bennett of Eau Claire and Patricia Showalter of Prospect; three brothers, Bud Knight of Dill, W.Va., Paul "Junior" Knight of Clora, Md., and Gerald Knight of Volant; and two sisters, Betty Martin of Plain Grove and Bonnie DeCaria of Ellwood City. Also surviving are 30 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Her husband, Frank French Bennett, whom she married Sept. 30, 1945, died June 12, 2005. She also was preceded in death by a son, Delmas Leon; and two grandsons, Frank Joseph Bennett and Nathan Newburn.

<B>BENNETT </B>— Friends of Evelyn Rose Bennett, who died Monday, March 10, 2008, will be received from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the <B>Smith Funeral Home</B>, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock. Visitation also will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Slippery Rock Baptist Church where services will follow at 1 p.m. with the Rev. Dave Barnhouse officiating. Burial will be at the North Plain Grove Cemetery.