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Woodrow Mattix Bennett
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Arts administrator, community activist.
Born at Antioch, California on 21 September 1917, son of John Hinds Bennett and Julia Trometre, his childhood was spent on his parents’ ranch at Visalia where they raised horses for Hollywood films. He survived a farm accident at age seven in which he lost his left (dominant) arm, although this did not stop him from pursuing many interests, passions, and careers. These included aviation, volunteering during the Second World War (he could not enlist in the military), State Fair award-winning wood carving, handcrafting furniture, managing the iconic Tower Theater in Sacramento, and flipping houses long before it was trendy.
In 1963, he met his future wife, former Winnipegger Mary Kozij (1933-2000) in Los Angeles, where she was working as a travel agent. They married, their daughter was born in 1968, and all three moved to Winnipeg in 1970 where a second daughter was born.
He was employed with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. After retirement, he became active in community activities including the North Point Douglas Residents Committee, West Kildonan Community Committee, and Main Street Revitalization Group. In 1982, he was appointed to the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba.
He died at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital on 14 June 1990.
“Poor attendance causes election cancellation,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 October 1986, page 19.
“Dauphin teacher on historic sites board,” Dauphin Herald, 26 October 1982, page 30.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 1990, page 54.
Obituary [Mary Bennett], Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 2000, page 55.
This page was prepared by Sarah Spinetta and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 June 2022
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