Lyle Ruiz Bennett

“Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like you were.” We all are, because he was so many things

On August 21, 2020 at around 3:30 in the morning, after a long and brave fight with cancer, Lyle Ruiz Bennett Sr. departed peacefully to his next adventure. He told us he was ready and had his bags packed, no passport needed. We are all sure his bags were carefully and thoughtfully packed and also had bags hanging off of those bags. He was ever the lover of travel and all facets of travel. Bags and stuff and style were a huge priority in his life. He was a maven of fashion and accessories till the very end. Dare we say his ultimate accessories were his huge family? He decided long ago he never wanted to be alone and that family was the most important part of his life. He was true to that, always there if you needed him. We would say he was the best playlist man you’d ever meet. He had such a love and appreciation of music. He was a wine, port and whiskey expert also, so he said. So many great stories about those things. He was expressive, humorous, clever, witty, funny. A jokester. The Joker. He was a color-changing LED fan. He was never boring, for sure. He was so, so smart and loved to teach. He knew the way. If it wasn’t just so, he’d hack. He was a figure-outer. That was part of the fun of life for him. Always an easy master of sport. At Central High School in Murfreesboro, TN he played football and wrestled. After high school and through college he mastered it all, too many to name, really. Roofer, herbalist, scuba diver, explorer, survivalist, technologist, Jedi Master and the list goes on. Golf was his last favorite sport. He would come home after a round and tell stories about how he “lost another friend” because of how badly he beat them. He was also an avid fan of the college football. He was a yelling at the tv type of a guy. It was fun to watch and it was fun to be around him. His knowledge of the world was vast. Partly because he loved to read up on the news, but also because he travelled so much. I bet if I had a map and randomly pointed he’d of gone there and also would be able to tell you a story of it. His story would be about a person he met, and a thing he did, a food he ate, how he single-handedly did whatever it was. He had so many stories. He could talk to anyone. He would make friends with them all.

Surviving him is his wife, Kelly Tolson; his aunt, Dusty Bennett; brother, David Bennett; his 9 children: Melanie Cagle, Sunny Bennett, Christopher Bennett, Aaron Bennett, Lyle Ruiz Bennett Jr., David Bennett, Jared Bennett, Rachel Bennett, and Adrienne Westergard; plus his grandchildren, In-Laws, cousins and a wide group of the very best friends a person could ever ask for.

All in all, Lyle was a spiritual man. A believer of angels and miracles. His energy was vast, is vast still, and will remain forever vast. He said if you wanted to talk with him. Just talk. He will be there, and will continue to be there, if you need him. We love you Lyle, Lylito, Grandpa, Papa, DaddiO, Lovie. Thanks for giving us your time and sharing everything you gave. You will be missed by many many people.

Celebration of Lyle’s Life will be September 6, 2020, from 2:30-7pm. Details can be found by joining our Facebook group: Lyle Loved Life or by emailing: lylelovedlife@gmail.com .

You may offer condolences at www.austinandbell.com Austin and Bell Funeral Home and Cremation Service, Hendersonville. 615-822-4442.