Obituary of Graham Neil Bennett

Graham Neil Bennett

June 1942 – September 2023

Graham Neil Bennett was born in England. During his formative years, and as a young man, Graham embraced and realized the importance of preparing for his future. This clearly was evidenced as he completed his university degree in Animal Husbandry, concurrently exercising his competitive nature by becoming a successful elite boxer with more than thirty fights to his credit.

Graham sought change and challenge and emigrated to Canada. Landing in Montreal, despite having only 17$ in his pocket and being unilingual, he ventured on to Toronto where, with perseverance and determination, became successful in a variety of domains.

Ranching was Graham’s first calling in Canada. He had an uncanny understanding of animals. As such, he commanded respect internationally when he was credited with world record milk production with cows, just to mention one of his legacies. His successes were not short lived.

Graham’s interests in cars and mechanics motivated him to open a car club jointly and he began racing on the track. The theme of mechanics resonated as he subsequently opened a Marine Supply business. As Graham was an exceptional driver, he dedicated the next couple of decades to transporting heavy loads as a professional truck driver. Graham’s trucking routes spanned all of North America, when he was not trucking steel in Hamilton. Concurrently, and for several decades, Graham immersed himself in the business of antiques, with a specialty in militaria, right up to his very last days.

Graham was a kind and honest man, yet very private. Sadly, Graham’s life was cut short due to an aggressive form of bone cancer. One of his final goals was to sail the Atlantic on his recently acquired sailboat. Alas, this was not realized.

From the life of Graham, we all can appreciate how short life is and how important it is to live it.

Graham is the best friend and colleague one could hope to have. He will be missed.