Obituary for Candy Cheri Bennett
Candy Cheri Bennett, 65, of Newcastle, OK passed away on Feb 17th after battling gall bladder and liver cancer where her strong determination to fight enabled her to extend a 3-month terminal prognosis into a 6-month outcome.
Candy was born to William and Betty Christina (Whitney) Kile August 3rd, 1957, at Elmendorf AFB Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska while her father was stationed there in the Air Force. Candy was the 4th of 5 children (Charlette, William II, Carol, and Barbra) which instilled in her a feeling of never being first and made her determined to make the most of what she had available to her. Candy grew up in El Paso, TX & Oklahoma City, OK where Candy did not complete high school in the traditional way due to conflicts with her mother, but Candy made sure she completed her GED from Oklahoma City Community College and continued to learn throughout her life resulting in many different classes completed / certifications.
In 1975, Candy married Michael Millwee resulting in three children, Michael II, Breck, and April. Candy was very adaptable and would take on the interests of her spouse and friends. Michael was a factory worker at General Motors and auto mechanic in the evenings & weekends. During their 9 years together, they acquired, fixed, and sold 96 cars which included Candy favorite, a green 1969 Celica GT that they repainted and sold.
Following their divorce in 1985 Candy married Casey Ames resulting in Cassiddy. Casey was in the Air Force and was stationed in Ogden, UT when Cassidy was born. They returned to Oklahoma after Casey completed his commitment to the Air Force to be closer to Candy’s older children. Casey enjoyed boating, fishing, spending time in the outdoors, and partying with friends so Candy adapted to spend much time with Casey at the lake and hosting events at their home with their friends and her kid’s friends. Candy was the “cool mom” that allowed her children to host video game tournaments, weekend sleepovers to watch movies all night, or swim parties for the neighborhood children. During this time, Candy’s father William fell ill with emphysema, and he lived with Candy until his passing in 2003. The years of seeing first-hand the ravages of battling disease over an extended period weighed heavily upon Candy.
Candy’s final marriage to John Bennett in 2001 resulted in Shane and Brooke, John’s children from his previous marriage, joining her family. John shared Candy’s love of watching hockey and spending time with friends which drew them together. Additionally, Candy and John traveled across the country, golfed, and spent time with their grandchildren. John and Candy had plans to travel and enjoy their retirement for many years. Candy also found a love for Betty Boop and collected all types of memorabilia with her character depicted upon them. Candy’s primary love of Betty Boop stemmed from the thought that she was over 60 years old in movies and TV yet remained pretty by modern standards which made Candy feel comforted as she grew older.
These unions resulted in 16 grandchildren who Candy loved dearly. Through her siblings and marriages Candy was additionally blessed with dozens of wonderful nieces and nephews. Candy was preceded in death by her parents and older sister Carol.
Candy was incredibly proud of her strong work ethic. Candy retired from Johnson Controls (formerly Borg Warner / York International) in 2020 after 34 years where she worked in wiring, assembly, unit testing, sheet metal, and finally driving a forklift pulling parts for customer orders. Candy worked with hundreds of people through the years and genuinely liked everyone she worked with. Candy had a positive outlook and a smile that could brighten the day of anyone around her based upon the testimonials from her coworkers and family.
Candy had a complicated relationship with religion. She was raised in a Jehovah's Witness family where her mother insisted upon strict followings of the church’s teachings during her first marriage. Following her mother’s passing in 1981, Candy was lost in the practices of her church and decided to try many different denominations and congregations throughout the rest of her life. Candy found her forever church family in 2018 at the First Moore Baptist Church where she re-established her strong connection with Jesus and was baptized into the congregation. She genuinely loved spending time with John and her church family.
When facing her own terminal cancer diagnosis, Candy had specific parameters on how she wanted to proceed and also a strong desire to complete her bucket list of travel (the Jesus show in Branson, Noah’s Ark museum in Kentucky, and visiting her birthplace & Northern Lights in Anchorage, AK) and have one last Thanksgiving / Christmas with her family before she passed. Candy told John and her children that she completed all her worldly desires and was ready to peacefully pass into Jesus’ arms to rejoin her father and sister.
Candy was born to William and Betty Christina (Whitney) Kile August 3rd, 1957, at Elmendorf AFB Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska while her father was stationed there in the Air Force. Candy was the 4th of 5 children (Charlette, William II, Carol, and Barbra) which instilled in her a feeling of never being first and made her determined to make the most of what she had available to her. Candy grew up in El Paso, TX & Oklahoma City, OK where Candy did not complete high school in the traditional way due to conflicts with her mother, but Candy made sure she completed her GED from Oklahoma City Community College and continued to learn throughout her life resulting in many different classes completed / certifications.
In 1975, Candy married Michael Millwee resulting in three children, Michael II, Breck, and April. Candy was very adaptable and would take on the interests of her spouse and friends. Michael was a factory worker at General Motors and auto mechanic in the evenings & weekends. During their 9 years together, they acquired, fixed, and sold 96 cars which included Candy favorite, a green 1969 Celica GT that they repainted and sold.
Following their divorce in 1985 Candy married Casey Ames resulting in Cassiddy. Casey was in the Air Force and was stationed in Ogden, UT when Cassidy was born. They returned to Oklahoma after Casey completed his commitment to the Air Force to be closer to Candy’s older children. Casey enjoyed boating, fishing, spending time in the outdoors, and partying with friends so Candy adapted to spend much time with Casey at the lake and hosting events at their home with their friends and her kid’s friends. Candy was the “cool mom” that allowed her children to host video game tournaments, weekend sleepovers to watch movies all night, or swim parties for the neighborhood children. During this time, Candy’s father William fell ill with emphysema, and he lived with Candy until his passing in 2003. The years of seeing first-hand the ravages of battling disease over an extended period weighed heavily upon Candy.
Candy’s final marriage to John Bennett in 2001 resulted in Shane and Brooke, John’s children from his previous marriage, joining her family. John shared Candy’s love of watching hockey and spending time with friends which drew them together. Additionally, Candy and John traveled across the country, golfed, and spent time with their grandchildren. John and Candy had plans to travel and enjoy their retirement for many years. Candy also found a love for Betty Boop and collected all types of memorabilia with her character depicted upon them. Candy’s primary love of Betty Boop stemmed from the thought that she was over 60 years old in movies and TV yet remained pretty by modern standards which made Candy feel comforted as she grew older.
These unions resulted in 16 grandchildren who Candy loved dearly. Through her siblings and marriages Candy was additionally blessed with dozens of wonderful nieces and nephews. Candy was preceded in death by her parents and older sister Carol.
Candy was incredibly proud of her strong work ethic. Candy retired from Johnson Controls (formerly Borg Warner / York International) in 2020 after 34 years where she worked in wiring, assembly, unit testing, sheet metal, and finally driving a forklift pulling parts for customer orders. Candy worked with hundreds of people through the years and genuinely liked everyone she worked with. Candy had a positive outlook and a smile that could brighten the day of anyone around her based upon the testimonials from her coworkers and family.
Candy had a complicated relationship with religion. She was raised in a Jehovah's Witness family where her mother insisted upon strict followings of the church’s teachings during her first marriage. Following her mother’s passing in 1981, Candy was lost in the practices of her church and decided to try many different denominations and congregations throughout the rest of her life. Candy found her forever church family in 2018 at the First Moore Baptist Church where she re-established her strong connection with Jesus and was baptized into the congregation. She genuinely loved spending time with John and her church family.
When facing her own terminal cancer diagnosis, Candy had specific parameters on how she wanted to proceed and also a strong desire to complete her bucket list of travel (the Jesus show in Branson, Noah’s Ark museum in Kentucky, and visiting her birthplace & Northern Lights in Anchorage, AK) and have one last Thanksgiving / Christmas with her family before she passed. Candy told John and her children that she completed all her worldly desires and was ready to peacefully pass into Jesus’ arms to rejoin her father and sister.