Delores Bennett, 97 years old of Bright, IN passed peacefully the evening of Saturday, January 17, 2026. Delores Eljean Schardine was born in the summer of 1928, in Cleves Ohio, to the strong and outgoing Ruth (Wiliamson), the quiet, hardworking, steadfast Harry, and her big sister and best friend in the whole world, Ruby (Schardine) Klem. They traveled the country with Harry, as he helped build America’s power infrastructure as a union Boiler Maker. They eventually settled into Ruth’s family’s homestead on Stateline Road in Bright, Indiana, where Delores graduated from Bright High School. She met the love of her life James Sykes and married him on June 26th, 1948, upon his return from the Pacific theatre of World War Two.
Delores lived some of the happiest years of her life in her red brick house on Stateline Road, across the street from her mom and dad, next door to her sister and her aunt, Nell Maupin, and eventually neighbors to her niece and nephews, and their wonderful spouses and children. There she raised her children, Connie (David) Kling and Doug (Jessica) Sykes and Doug’s first wife, Becky Sykes, the endeavor in which she took the most pride and joy, and she loved being close to Ruby and Jim’s children, her niece and nephews Terry (Mary) Huff, Eric (Janet) Klem, Kurt(Angie) Klem, Mark (Berta) Klem, and Harweda (Rob) Davis.
Delores took pride in keeping a very clean and tidy house and enjoyed sharing her culinary talents by always having delicious food ready for whoever would stop by. Delores was a woman of fashion and taste and loved to shop, therefore her look was flawless. She was very particular about what she liked and what she didn’t like and wasn’t afraid to express her opinion. Overall, Delores was a caregiver to all including her husbands, sister, children and friends. She desired to help people for as long as she could.
After Jim’s death in 1984 Delores married Benjamin Bennett on October 27th 1990 and started a happy new chapter on Georgetown Road, traveling with him to quarter horse events, and learning to line dance. She was happily dancing into her late eighties and was an Eastern Star member. Her other great joy in life was being with her grandchildren Emily and Sara Kling, Andrew and Greg Sykes, and Lingzhi Hu. She never passed up an opportunity to be with them and was grateful to also spend time and get to know her great grandchildren Logan and Vaughn Tanaka, Jonah and Ila Savage, and Landon Hicks.
To live such a long life, she had to endure the loss of many beloved relatives and friends, including her parents, her sister, both of her husbands, and her daughter. She faced those losses with grace and an unwavering faith that she would be reunited with them someday.
Services for Delores will be held on Monday, February 2 at Dearborn Hills Church in Bright, IN. Visitation will begin at 10:00am and continue until the time of the funeral service at 12:00pm. Burial will immediately follow at Gibson Cemetery. Donations in Delores’s honor can be made to Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. Donations will be accepted during the visitation or can be mailed to the funeral home. Family and friends are encouraged to leave condolences at www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com.