IRVINGTON—Peter S. Bennett, 88, passed away on May 19, 2025, after a short period of declining health. Retiring to the area from Connecticut, he had been a resident of Virginia for almost 30 years—first in Williamsburg and then spending the last 19 of those years at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury retirement community in Irvington.
Peter was born on July 4, 1936, in Providence, R.I., to The Right Reverend Granville Gaylord Bennett, the eighth Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island, and Mary H. Bennett. As a small boy, he thought all the holiday fireworks were for him. He graduated from Providence Country Day School, Providence, in 1954, and Amherst College, Amherst, Mass, in 1958. He continued his education at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., earning graduate certification in secondary education. He also served his country, as a corporal, for two terms in the Connecticut National Guard.
Peter married Ellen E. Duckworth in 1958, his life-long educational collaborator and travel companion. They enjoyed more than 66 years of teaching and exploring the world together. They raised three children, Jennifer, Jonathan and Joshua, in whom they instilled a deep appreciation for the importance of education and a global perspective on life, while setting an example of true friendship, love and devotion.
Throughout his professional career, Peter was a steadfast supporter of public education, working more than 33 years as a history teacher at Staples High School in Westport, Conn. He wrote, and had published with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, a 57-page teachers manual entitled “What Happened on Lexington Green.” He continued to lecture and speak on many topics throughout his retirement.
A particular focus of his love of teaching was about India, Asia, China and Japan. Later in his teaching career he was associated with the Asia Society in New York City. Additionally, he and Ellen were ambassadors for Air India for many years. They helped Air India give workshops for travel agents—sharing their first-hand experiences and enthusiasm for the country. Peter took his entire family to New Delhi, India, for his sabbatical year in 1977-78. He and Ellen later returned several times to travel and visit friends made there.
Peter and Ellen continued to travel in retirement. Seeing the Great Wall of China, being able to visit Tibet, visiting friends in France, taking a canal boat trip in England, making it all the way to New Zealand, train trips across Canada and sailing through the Panama Canal are just some of the highlights of their many trips together.
Beginning in Peter’s school years, he was a first-class athlete, achieving recognition in baseball, football and basketball. He was also an accomplished golfer with a single-digit handicap, playing well into his 50s. Once he retired to Virginia, he enjoyed lawn bowling and played in competitive tournaments.
Music was an underpinning of Peter’s life. A self-taught guitar player, he also enjoyed the banjo and even tried his hand at the Indian sitar. He loved to sing and spent many of his retirement years in barbershop groups, specifically Williamsburg’s “The Dukes of Gloucester” and “The Bay Tones” of the Northern Neck area. He and Ellen also very much enjoyed singing together in the Chesapeake Choral for a few years.
The Episcopal church was also a constant in Peter’s life. While living in Connecticut, he and his family attended Trinity Church in Southport where he served on the vestry. Wherever he and Ellen lived, the local Episcopal church was a place of community and comfort.
Peter’s surviving family members include Ellen, his beloved wife of 66 years; and his three children, Jennifer Bennett and her husband, Richard Ruth, Jonathan Bennett and his wife, Susanna Breese, and Joshua Corrette-Bennett and his wife, Stephanie Corrette-Bennett. Peter leaves two grandchildren, Madeline and Dove Corrette-Bennett. He also leaves his nephew, Robert C. Gwin III and family; and, the families of his half sister, Virginia Moulds.
He was predeceased by his parents and his half sisters, Elizabeth Gwin and Virginia Moulds.
A service was held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 24, at Grace Episcopal Church, Kilmarnock. Burial was held in the Grace Episcopal Church cemetery immediately after the service. A reception followed in the Grace Episcopal Church parish hall.
For those who wish, donations may be made to Amherst College, Amherst, Mass.
Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
