Obituary of Trevor Bertram James Bennett

BA, BEd, ARCT, RCCO, CRCCO, ALCM, LLCM, FLCM

1948 — 2024

Trevor Bennett, beloved husband of 37 years to Fern, passed away on Monday, August 26, 2024, at the age of 76 years.

The only child of Harry and Florence Bennett, Trevor was born and raised in Lethbridge, AB. He contracted paralytic polio shortly before the Salk vaccine became available. Trevor spent eight months in the Alberta Red Cross Crippled Children’s Hospital in Calgary. In an effort to help him regain the use of his arms, his parents enrolled him in music lessons. Those early lessons set him on his eventual career path.

Trevor went on to walk unsupported again, accumulating a number of firsts at local music festivals. In 1966, he won the Royal Conservatory of Music Silver Medal for the highest marks in Alberta on his Grade 8 organ exam.

A self-professed avid collector of degrees, diplomas, and various professional initials after his name, Trevor pursued lifelong learning in his career as a piano, organ, music history, and music theory teacher. He attended many workshops, conferences, and conventions over the years. His impressive collection of diplomas and certificates lined the walls of his private music studio, serving as an example to his many students of what they too could accomplish and have to show for their efforts.

Trevor was deeply touched by the handmade cards his many students gave him for Christmas and at the end of the teaching year. By the time he retired, Trevor had two fat binders filled with these keepsakes.

In 2010, the Anglican Diocese of Calgary presented Trevor with a certificate marking 50 years of service as a church organist. In 2012, the Alberta Registered Music Teachers Association (ARMTA) presented him with a certificate marking 35 years as a music teacher.

Aside from teaching and playing organ and piano at various churches, Trevor also travelled throughout Western Canada as an adjudicator and examiner at music festivals and for the Western Board of Music, later Conservatory Canada, when it was still active.

Among other endeavours, Trevor participated for several semesters in the Volunteer Patient Program at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, helping to train future doctors in post-polio syndrome.

A history buff, Trevor was a generous donor to museums and libraries in Calgary and Lethbridge. He donated many cultural and archival materials to these institutions, ranging from historical publications and pictures to his English war bride mother’s wedding attire, which had been cobbled together from wartime ration coupons. As one Glenbow Museum curator stated in a letter of acknowledgment, “It’s the ephemera of everyday life which can help complete the picture of our past.”

He was a member of the Masonic Order for over 50 years. He became Lodge Master in 1987 and served intermittently as Alberta Grand Lodge Organist.

Trevor suffered a severe illness in late 2018 and spent his final years at Bow View Manor. Special thanks to the Manor staff for their care during that time.

A private funeral service was held on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the ARMTA Calgary Branch Scholarship Fund, 77 Deerpoint Rd SE, Calgary, AB, T2J 6W5, www.armta-calgary.com.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Trevor’s family here.

In living memory of Trevor Bennett, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Calgary Crematorium, 3219 – 4th Street NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 3A6, Telephone: 403-299-0111.