R. Ben Bennett loved Junction City, was a part of the community, and his heart was always with the wrestlers he guided during a 17-year stint as the head wrestling coach at JCHS.
Those were among the comments during the funeral service for Bennett, who died Dec. 12 at his home. He was 77 years old. There was overflow attendance at the First United Methodist Church for that service for Bennett on Friday.
Those who attended learned how Ben arrived in the community to become a teacher, wrestling and football coach, fell in love with Junction City and its' people and stayed. Bennett married Peggy Huey, guided the Blue Jays to three state wrestling championships, and 27 individual Blue Jay wrestlers to state titles. He later worked extensively with USA Wrestling where he served on the board of directors, as executive director, and as a manager of the wrestling venue for the 1984 Olympics. Ben was named Kansas Wrestling Coach of the Year three times and was a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was one of the original founders of the Kansas Kids' Wrestling Federation.
Bennett spent the past 12 years serving as a member of the Geary County Commission.
Bennett's preparation for his work was touched on and it was noted by Pastor Dirk Weiss that " Ben was a man of action." He stated, "God made Ben an educator and he touched the lives of young people in the classroom and as a coach."
There was one final request on behalf of Ben. Look at your calendar and attend the Jan. 16th wrestling dual between Junction City and Manhattan at the Shenk Gym. The head coaches for the two teams, Bob Gonzalez of Manhattan and his son Tyler Gonzalez of Junction City, were both friends and longtime acquaintances of Ben Bennett.
