1960 - 2007

FT. WALTON BEACH, Fla. — Sylvia Judith Sublette Bennett passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home April 14 after an extended illness.
Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, May 1 at 11 a.m. in the Westminster First Baptist Church Memorial Park with Dr. George A. Harper of the Westminster Presbyterian Church officiating. The family will receive friends at the Sandifer Funeral Home from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Floral tributes will be accepted.
She was born in the U.S.A.F. Base hospital at Wright-Patterson, Ohio on September 27, 1960 to Julia Rose Wright Sublette and Richard Ashmore Sublette.
Sylvia leaves behind her parents; brothers Christopher Mark Sublette of Falls Church, Va., Wright Daniel Sublette of Shalimar, Fla. and Carey Patrick Sublette and his wife Catherine Dovel and their daughters Cayley and Kedron Sublette of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. She also leaves behind uncles and aunts, Colonel Richard R. Simpson and Sarah W. Simpson of Upatoi, Ga. and Joseph Shepard Sublette and Janet B. Sublette of Sumter, S.C.
She was preceded in death by her husband Philip Samuel Bennett.
Sylvia, being the daughter of a career Air Force officer, spent time between moves in Westminster, S.C. with her two grandmothers Jessie Ava Tannery Sublette and Anne Belle Watkins Wright. From one she learned of a generous spirit and the love of gardening and cooking; from the other she learned the joy of laughter and beauty of a trained singing voice.
When in elementary school in California, she was identified as an academically gifted student. Later at Meigs Junior High School in Shalimar, Fla. she was singled out for her achievements academically, her leadership ability and her athletic ability. Gifted with a fine singing voice, she won the Choctawhatchee High School talent contest in 1977 and studied voice with Trudie Sherwood at Pensacola Junior College.
She sang in the choirs at Shalimar United Methodist Church and the Trinity UMC of Fort Walton Beach and recently at the Shalimar Presbyterian Church where she was a member.
She served as counselor on the crisis line for the Bridgeway Center and was honored in 2005 as the Outstanding Health Volunteer for the year by the Mental Health Association of Okaloosa/Walton Counties in Florida. Before her death, she was serving as a volunteer at the Bridgeway Mental Health Center of Fort Walton Beach and was looking forward to more job training that she was to receive in Pensacola in May.
A message of condolence may be written to the family by visiting www.sandiferfuneralhome.com.
Sandifer Funeral Home is assisting the family.