By Emily J. Minor
Gulf Stream — Shirley Bennett, a Gulf Stream resident who was loved for her easy smile, sense of humor and outstanding Key lime pie, died March 31 in the hospice unit at Bethesda Memorial Hospital after a very recent series of strokes. She was 80.
A native of Minnesota, Mrs. Bennett was the daughter of a school administrator whose job took the family to suburban Chicago in 1940.
Mrs. Bennett attended Northwestern University and graduated in 1951 with a degree in art. She worked as an interior decorator for a Michigan Avenue design firm. Through the years, she mentored many young designers.
In 1953, Mrs. Bennett married Gail Kirk Bennett, whose father had founded Bennett Brothers Inc. — today a top business-incentive program that is still run by the family. In 1965, they built a family home in Northbrook, Ill., and, through the years, Mrs. Bennett had a flair and a love for decorating the family homes both here and in Illinois, said her son, Kirk Bennett.
The family began coming to the area in the 1950s and frequently stayed at the Gulfstream Shores Hotel. They bought several units there in the mid-1980s when the hotel was turned into condos.
But their major residence in Florida was the large, lovely home on Banyan Road that Gail Bennett’s father had built when the polo grounds were developed into residential, said Kirk Bennett.
“She really enjoyed Florida much more than she did her home in Northbrook,” he said. The back yard was full of fruit trees and she loved making smoothies for all the grandkids. She also made “the best Key lime pie in South Florida.”
Kirk Bennett said his mother appreciated many friendships in the local social scene, loved a fun party and frequented Delray Beach’s artsy Atlantic Avenue when she could. She also never forgot the Chicago-based charities that she’d always loved.
Beside her son Kirk, she is survived by another son, George, and two daughters, Barbara and Karen. Mrs. Bennett also leaves seven grandchildren.
Her husband, Gail Kirk Bennett, died in 2007.
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