Glenn Blanton Bennefield

Glenn Blanton Bennefield was born in San Augustine, Texas on July 27, 1930 and passed away in Lufkin, Texas on November 19, 2020. The family will honor him with a memorial service at a later date.

Glenn attended White Rock School and San Augustine High School. As a young teenager, he became interested in working on cars, and this interest became a lifelong hobby.

Eager to leave the farm behind, Glenn took a job at Levingston Shipbuilding in Orange in 1947. Later that year, he married Jeanette Jenkins of Nacogdoches, and they settled in Orange. Together they raised their two daughters Glenda and Debbie with a focus on their church (Cove Baptist), education, and hard work.

Glenn worked at Levingston for over 39 years. One of his career highlights was helping build New York City’s Staten Island ferries especially the John F. Kennedy. As the longest tenured operating engineer, he was one of the last three workers to lock the gates as Levingston closed in 1985. Glenn then worked for nine years as a warehouseman for Industrial Technicians at DuPont and later at Intercoastal Supply in Port Arthur. Glenn worked there until Hurricane Ike hit in 2008 destroying the Intercoastal warehouse.

Glenn continued to work on his antique cars for many years. Jeanette joined him in his interest, and they traveled hundreds of miles to swap meets in Arkansas, Missouri, and throughout Texas until her death in 1989. When Glenn moved to Lufkin in 2015 to be closer to his children, his Model T and Model A moved with him. While in good health and living in Lufkin, Glenn attended First Baptist Church with daughter Glenda and his son-in-law Ernest.

Glenn was preceded in death by his wife of over 42 years, Jeanette (Jenkins) Bennefield; his parents Collie and Edna (Wood) Bennefield; his sister Mavis (Bennefield) Morrison; and his brother Bruce Bennefield.

Those left to cherish his memory include his daughters and sons-in-law, Glenda and Ernest King of Lufkin, Texas and Debbie and Benny Stevens of Granbury, Texas; his grandchildren and their spouses, Natalie (King) and Brandon Johnson, Elizabeth (King) and Scott Pittman, Colby and Beth Stevens, Suzanne (Stevens) and Chad Weldon; his great-grandchildren , Caroline (Johnson) Morrison and her husband Josh Morrison, Peter Johnson, Mattie Pittman, Henry Pittman, Renee Stevens, River Stevens, Rory Weldon, and Shelby Weldon, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Glenn will be remembered for his quiet faith in God, his strong commitment to family, and his legacy that hard work brings reward.