Mrs. Gussie Lee Bennett

Gussie L. Martin Bennett was born on October 24, 1946, the youngest of nine (9) children, to the late Jessie Martin and the late Gussie Crossley Martin in Pike County, Mississippi. She was called to be with the Lord and peacefully passed away at home in Terry, MS on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Gussie accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior early in life. She attended school at Booker T. High School in Summit, MS and received work certifications from Southwest Jr. College in Summit, MS. Her dedication to her work at Southwest Regional Medical Center was evident through her thirty years of service, where she made a lasting impression on the doctors and nursing staff she collaborated with. This period would signify the commencement of her retirement. In addition to her career at Southwest Regional Medical Center, Gussie had a deep devotion to God, her family, church, and a lifelong passion for fashion and design, as she actively engaged in elegantly dressing the church missionaries, mothers, and saints of God, leaving an inevitable mark on the congregation. Proverbs 31:31 encourages us to give the virtuous woman the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her. As the family reminisces on the life and works of our beloved, words just do not seem to capture the beauty that she brought into the world, but we are forever grateful for the space and time that we were blessed to share with her. To speak of Gussie is to speak of a selfless, compassionate, humble, kind, forgiving, charismatic, resilient Mother, Daughter, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, Sister, Aunt, Niece, Cousin, and Friend. Her presence would light up rooms and touch any life that she encountered. She is preceded in death by her parents, Jessie and Gussie Martin, husband, Hiram (Himes) Bennett; daughter, Deborah Martin Jones; grandson, Bradford Bennett; son-in-law, Clarence Mills; five sisters: Lucille Simmons, Hilda Newton, Annie B. Thomas, Ada Patterson, and Emogene Williams; two brothers: Jessie and George Martin. Gussie leaves to cherish her loving and lasting memories to her daughter, Leslie Jones Mills of Terry, MS; son, Benjamin Bennett (Shavonte) of Raleigh, NC; daughter, Melissa Bennett of Washington, DC; daughter, Nekole Bennett of Fort Worth, TX; fourteen (14) grandchildren: Jeremy, LaDarrion, Joshua, Mohammed, Quincy, Breanna, Amani, Chandler, Damion, Aaliyah, Zachary, Jacob, Brock, and Cari, fifteen (15) great-grandchildren; one surviving sister, Wilena Jenkins, and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, other relatives, church family, friends, and Missionary Eleanor Luter of McComb, MS, who has been a loyal and steadfast friend for more than four decades. A visitation for Mrs. Bennett will be held Friday, November 24, 2023, at Craft-Dillon Funeral Home in McComb, MS, from 5pm until 7pm. The Funeral Service is scheduled to start at 11:00am, Saturday, November 25, 2023, at Agape Worship Center in Summit, MS. Pastor Samuel Alexander will officiate the funeral service with interment to follow in Greenlawn Cemetery Summit, MS. Please take a moment to share your condolences and encouragement at www.craftfuneralhome.org.

Mrs. Gussie Lee Bennett

October 24, 1946 - November 15, 2023