Virgil was born August 26, 1935, in Bonita Springs, SD, to Wiley and Katheran (Guthmiller) Bennett. As a child he grew up at Union Center, SD, with his brothers and sisters and he worked with them and their father on the family farm. As an adult he moved away to Sturgis, SD. and was married to his first wife. To this union a son was born Virgil Troy (Bennett) Koster of Sturgis. After their divorce he married his second wife, Zeta Baker, whom he married on November 5, 1959, in Spearfish, SD, and to this union five children were born, Tammy, Dale, Kevin, Sarah and Naomi.

In 1971, Virgil and Zeta both became Jehovah's Witnesses and he faithfully served Jehovah until his death. He and Zeta taught their children and grandchildren to have the same amount of love for Jehovah God as he did. He had a love for music and played at local establishments around Deadwood and Lead as a young man. But his favorite time of all was playing music with his older brother, Sam Bennett who played by his side til the end. He loved to dance with his wife of 58 years in the living room of their home.

For many years he logged the Black Hills with his sons. He started out with a skid horse named Queen and logged with her til he got an old M tractor and retired Queen. He loved hunting to feed his family. When he retired from logging he drove truck for many companies but his favorite truck driving job was working and hauling gravel for Boom Concrete of Newell, SD, for the local farmers and ranchers. Virgil loved spending every waking moment with his family and friends, and he never knew a stranger.

Virgil Dean Bennett died July 20, 2017, at his home surrounded by his family.

He is survived by his spouse, Zeta Bennett; five children; Tammy (Ed) Petree of Belle Fourche, SD; Dale (Rebecka) Bennett of Rifle, CO; Kevin (Denise) Bennett of Laurel, MT; Sarah Bennett and Naomi Bennett of Belle Fourche, SD; eleven grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be Saturday, July 29, 2017, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis, SD.

Memorial services will be 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 30, 2017, at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witness in Belle Fourche, SD, at 3:00 p.m. with an inurnment at a later date.