Roll Call Tribute
Robert "Bob" Bennett Jr. '61 June 29, 2021 11:20 AM updated: June 29, 2021 11:46 AM
Robert C. “Bob” Bennett Jr.
January 28, 1939 - June 21, 2021
Uncommonly modest and unassuming, honest and generous, loving and giving, Robert C. Bennett Jr., husband, father, grandfather, friend, teacher, mentor, community volunteer, lawyer left this world on June 21, 2021 at the age of 82. “I only met one man in whom I could not find something redeemable,” he said, a remarkable statement given his life in criminal courtrooms as first a prosecutor and then a defense attorney. Ever the high road traveler he would never say just who that man was.
Born in Corpus Christi in 1939, the only child of the late Mable Dee Hix and Robert C. Bennett, Sr., Bob grew up along the Texas Gulf Coast. In elementary school, with an intelligent mind that recognized there was a world larger than is own, “Bobby” began his day listening to world news. Upon entering high school, his parents put down roots in Louisiana, affording him four years at Dequincy High School where he ran track and lettered in football, graduating in 1957.
The first in his family to attend college, he graduated Texas A & M College in 1961. He spent two years in ROTC, and a cowboy at heart, he joined the Rodeo Club, riding bareback and bulls.
A lifetime believer in our democracy and the Bill of Rights, Bob left Texas to attend George Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C. Taking night classes, he worked in the personnel office of the D.C. government and graduated in 1965.
In 1962, Bob met and married California native Cheryl Lynne Jones, with the caveat she become a Texan. The morning following his last final, they drove out in their turquoise 1963 VW beetle, with their two-month-old first born, and headed straight for Texas.
Bob wanted to be a trial lawyer. During his final semester in law school, he flew back to Texas to see, firsthand, several large city district attorney’s offices, returning determined to serve under Frank Briscoe, in Houston. A Harris County Assistant District Attorney from 1965 to 1976, then serving under Carol Vance, he left as the first Chief of the Organized Crime Unit. He later “went to the dark side…. representing accused persons.” First partnering with Joe Schaffer, Bucky Allshouse, and Richard Powell, he later practiced with Marjorie Meyers and George McCall “Mac” Secrest, Jr., retiring in 2006 from Bennett and Secrest. Over the years he was in the headlines plenty having prosecuted Lilla Paulus of “Blood and Money” fame and a having defended a variety of people accused of white collar crimes including city councilman John Castillo and the late head of Enron, Ken Lay.
Bob received many awards over his lifetime. In 2005, honored by peers, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award (Celebrating A Lifetime of Excellence) from the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Other awards include those from the YMCA International Services, and Child Advocates of Fort Bend County, where he was a founding board member and served for three decades. The year he retired, he began volunteering twice a week with Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS) serving the disadvantaged and immigrant community. In 2020, nominated by ECHOS, he received the Community Quarterback Award, from the Houston Texans and United Way recognized his work at ECHOS and the University of Houston Eye Clinic.
Preceded in death by his parents, and half-sister, Genell Vick, Bob leaves behind his wife of 58 ½ years (to the day), Cheryl; his son Robert “Todd” Bennett, wife Dawn Schlaefli Bennett, grandson Robert William “Will” Bennett, granddaughter Emma Anne Bennett and Will’s new bride, Chandni Jaggi; son Joel Hunter Bennett, wife Denise McGill Bennett, granddaughter Julia Christine Bennett; daughter Dana Bennett Matthews, son-in-law Duke Matthews, grandson, Dasan Bennett Matthews; brother-in-law, Wesley Thomas Jones and wife Elise Bunji Jones, and special friends Dr. E.A. “Sonny” Todd, Paddy Burwell, Mac Secrest, and Margy Meyers. And Listo.
The family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support received during this painful time and will hold a small private service.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Child Advocates of Fort Bend County or Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services.
©2021 Hearst
January 28, 1939 - June 21, 2021
Uncommonly modest and unassuming, honest and generous, loving and giving, Robert C. Bennett Jr., husband, father, grandfather, friend, teacher, mentor, community volunteer, lawyer left this world on June 21, 2021 at the age of 82. “I only met one man in whom I could not find something redeemable,” he said, a remarkable statement given his life in criminal courtrooms as first a prosecutor and then a defense attorney. Ever the high road traveler he would never say just who that man was.
Born in Corpus Christi in 1939, the only child of the late Mable Dee Hix and Robert C. Bennett, Sr., Bob grew up along the Texas Gulf Coast. In elementary school, with an intelligent mind that recognized there was a world larger than is own, “Bobby” began his day listening to world news. Upon entering high school, his parents put down roots in Louisiana, affording him four years at Dequincy High School where he ran track and lettered in football, graduating in 1957.
The first in his family to attend college, he graduated Texas A & M College in 1961. He spent two years in ROTC, and a cowboy at heart, he joined the Rodeo Club, riding bareback and bulls.
A lifetime believer in our democracy and the Bill of Rights, Bob left Texas to attend George Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C. Taking night classes, he worked in the personnel office of the D.C. government and graduated in 1965.
In 1962, Bob met and married California native Cheryl Lynne Jones, with the caveat she become a Texan. The morning following his last final, they drove out in their turquoise 1963 VW beetle, with their two-month-old first born, and headed straight for Texas.
Bob wanted to be a trial lawyer. During his final semester in law school, he flew back to Texas to see, firsthand, several large city district attorney’s offices, returning determined to serve under Frank Briscoe, in Houston. A Harris County Assistant District Attorney from 1965 to 1976, then serving under Carol Vance, he left as the first Chief of the Organized Crime Unit. He later “went to the dark side…. representing accused persons.” First partnering with Joe Schaffer, Bucky Allshouse, and Richard Powell, he later practiced with Marjorie Meyers and George McCall “Mac” Secrest, Jr., retiring in 2006 from Bennett and Secrest. Over the years he was in the headlines plenty having prosecuted Lilla Paulus of “Blood and Money” fame and a having defended a variety of people accused of white collar crimes including city councilman John Castillo and the late head of Enron, Ken Lay.
Bob received many awards over his lifetime. In 2005, honored by peers, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award (Celebrating A Lifetime of Excellence) from the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Other awards include those from the YMCA International Services, and Child Advocates of Fort Bend County, where he was a founding board member and served for three decades. The year he retired, he began volunteering twice a week with Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS) serving the disadvantaged and immigrant community. In 2020, nominated by ECHOS, he received the Community Quarterback Award, from the Houston Texans and United Way recognized his work at ECHOS and the University of Houston Eye Clinic.
Preceded in death by his parents, and half-sister, Genell Vick, Bob leaves behind his wife of 58 ½ years (to the day), Cheryl; his son Robert “Todd” Bennett, wife Dawn Schlaefli Bennett, grandson Robert William “Will” Bennett, granddaughter Emma Anne Bennett and Will’s new bride, Chandni Jaggi; son Joel Hunter Bennett, wife Denise McGill Bennett, granddaughter Julia Christine Bennett; daughter Dana Bennett Matthews, son-in-law Duke Matthews, grandson, Dasan Bennett Matthews; brother-in-law, Wesley Thomas Jones and wife Elise Bunji Jones, and special friends Dr. E.A. “Sonny” Todd, Paddy Burwell, Mac Secrest, and Margy Meyers. And Listo.
The family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support received during this painful time and will hold a small private service.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Child Advocates of Fort Bend County or Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services.
©2021 Hearst
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