Peggy Ann Westmoreland Bennett

Peggy Ann Westmoreland Bennett, 84, entered the presence of Christ on March 30, 2016. Mrs. Bennett was born April 21, 1931 in Wakefield, Rhode Island, to Darus Sidney and Jennifer Engberg Westmoreland. She was the youngest of three children and spent her childhood in Rhode Island, Maine, South Carolina, and Virginia. Her family moved to Magnolia, Arkansas, when her father retired from the US Coast Guard. There she graduated from Magnolia High School and Southern State College (now Southern Arkansas University). In 1953, she married Hollis H. Bennett of Lewisville, Arkansas. After her husband's completion of dental school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, the two moved to Springdale, Arkansas, in 1957 where she was a resident of Springdale for 57 years. Mrs. Bennett and her husband became members of First Baptist Church (now Cross Church) in 1957, and she was a member of Cross Church at the time of her passing. She was the PE teacher at Shiloh Christian Schools from the time of its founding in 1976 through spring of 1996. One of her greatest joys in life was teaching the Sunday school class for the mentally challenged at Cross Church. She also had an active prayer ministry for friends and family and a "rose" ministry. The family requests that you share a rose with a friend to keep Peggy's tradition alive. When she felt God's leading, she would purchase long-stem roses to give to everyone working at a doctor's office, business, etc. to remind them that God cares for them. In the 1970s, she was an active member in philanthropic organization of Epsilon Sigma Alpha. Mrs. Bennett was preceded in death by her husband Dr. Hollis H Bennett, her sister Betty Albaugh, and her brother Darus Sidney "Wes" Westmoreland. Mrs. Bennett was the beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother of three sons, five grandchildren, six step-grandchildren, and four step-great grandchildren. She is survived by her sons and their wives: Jay and Talitha Bennett, Lee and Michelle Bennett, and Eric and Miriam Bennett. Funeral services will be Monday, April 4, 2016 at 11 a.m. at Cross Church Springdale with Joe Dorman officiating. Burial will follow in Friendship Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. before the service. Memorials may be made to Elizabeth Richardson Center, 3917 S. Old Missouri Road, Springdale, Arkansas 72764. Online condolences may be left at www.siscofuneral.com.