News that John Bennett passed away in February of 2022 at 89 came as a shock—not that 89 isn’t a ripe old age, but John’s boundless zest for life seemed to defy aging. Mainly though, his passing saddened because he was such a fine human being and dedicated humanitarian. PKSCA was blessed to have him as a member and Director for decades.
What a joy it was to serve on the Board of Directors with a colleague like John—upbeat, smart, innovative, talented, cooperative, always willing to pitch in. Whether it was filling an officer slot or collaborating in hosting visiting delegations or playing the keyboard at PKSCA events, John was always can-do. His calm demeanor graced our meetings.
John’s interest in things Russian dates back to his college days at Lewis & Clark College, where he double-majored in Russian language & literature + music, then went on to Indiana University to earn a Russian language & literature master’s degree, followed by Russian studies at University of Washington, culminating in teaching music at Oregon Episcopal School and Russian language at Lewis & Clark.
Outside of the classroom, John pursued his love of early American ragtime as a solo concert pianist as well as a keyboardist with local ragtime traveling bands, not to mention Young Audience-sponsored solo presentations on ragtime to Portland Public School students. And as a PKSCA Board member, John was instrumental (no pun intended) in helping organize exchanges with Khabarovsk musicians, young and old, then later traveling to Khabarovsk as part of a PKSCA goodwill delegation.
How many times did John schlep that weighty keyboard + microphone into restaurants, community halls, and PSU movie theater to perform at PKSCA’s Victory Day and Bridge to Russia celebrations?! And what fun it was to sing Russian folk songs to his accompaniment! (Check out the Events/Victory Day page on this website for a photo of John doing his thing.) “Those were the days my friends…”
Exemplary in every way, John meant a lot to PKSCA. If you would like to make a contribution to PKSCA in John Bennett’s memory, please contact PKSCA directly.
