The Jean Bennett Memorial Endowment Fund was established to honor the life and memory of Jean Bennett. The North Scott Education Foundation will award this scholarship each year to a graduating senior from the North Scott High School.

Jean was born on December 11, 1921, in Davenport, Iowa. She had three children, Kent, Jennifer and Nina by her first husband, Erwin Mohr, who passed away unexpectedly. She then put herself through school to become a teacher. Her first teaching position was at Sheridan No. 9, a one room rural schoolhouse where she taught all grades. She next taught 4th and 5th grade at Ed White School in the North Scott School District for 16 years until her retirement in 1984.

In 1984, she married Maurice A. Bennett. They shared a love of ballroom dancing that took them to many competitions and together they reached the highest international acclaim for their dancing skill. They also shared a love of travel and visited many countries and continents, including China, Tahiti, Canada and Europe. They shared their travel adventures with schools and nursing homes by making frequent presentations of slide shows to the delight of students and residents. Jean passed away after a short illness on February 11, 2005.

Jean was active in many community activities over her lifetime and was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport. She was President of the Davenport Women’s Club, and a member of NSEA, Sheridan 4-H Club, Scott Co. Farm Bureau, German American Heritage Center, Scott Co. Historic Preservation Society, Black Hawk Hiking Club, Putnam Museum, Charter member of the Golden K Club, the Society for the Preservation of Lighthouses, Preservation of Williamsburg, Friends of Galvin Fine Arts, Friendship Force, American Schleswig Holstein Heritage Society, Iowa Polka Club, and Varsity Dance Club.

In establishing Jean’s Memorial Endowment Fund, Maurice included a hope that the students who receive Jean’s scholarship make a contribution to the endowment when they are able to do so as a way to give students of the future a similar chance to reach their goal of a college education.