Paula M. Bennett

Ms. Paula Bennett of 1631 Steadfast Street, Columbia, SC died Sunday, January 4, 2015 at Providence Hospital Columbia, South Carolina.  

Funeral Services will be held  Saturday, January 10, 2015, 12:00 Noon at Sutton Branch Baptist Church, 420 Sutton Branch Road Lugoff, South Carolina.  Interment will follow in the church cemetery.   Ms. Bennett served as Minister of Music at Sutton Branch  for 43 years.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home 270 N. Dogwood Ave Ridgeway, South Carolina; Friday, January 9, 2015, 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Paula Marie Bennett was born April 7, 1956 to the late Paul and Marjorie Haile Bennett.   She departed this earthly life on Sunday, January 4, 2015 at Providence Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina.

Paula joined Sutton Branch Baptist Church in Lugoff, South Carolina at an early age.   She became the church musician when she was 15 years old and continued to serve in that capacity until her health began to decline.   She served as the Minister of Music at Sutton Branch Baptist Church for 43 years.   Under her leadership, she organized the Male Chorus which continues her legacy by singing every third Sunday.  Paula was also a member of the Missionary Society where she served as President during her tenure.  

Paula was educated in the public schools of Richland County in Columbia, South Carolina. She is a 1974 graduate of Keenan High School and after graduating she became a student at Benedict College, and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education in 1979.    During her years at Benedict, she was a member of the renowned and well-traveled Benedict Concert Choir.     Paula was one of the original members of The Family Gospel Singers of Lugoff, South Carolina.

Paula’s passion for music and her love for children led her to a career of teaching music to children.  She began her teaching career at Boylan-Haven Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina where she was a music teacher for four years.  After leaving Boylan-Haven Mather Academy, she worked as a music, kindergarten and first grade teacher for eleven years at The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit and after leaving there, she spent ten years at the Saint Stephens Pre-School in Columbia, South Carolina where she served as Assistant Director.  Paula also worked as a substitute teacher in Richland School District One in Columbia, South Carolina.

Paula’s hobbies included cooking, baking, hosting dinner parties, singing, entertaining children, decorating, watching movies, and shopping.   Paula was a fun person and she loved laughing.

She leaves behind to mourn her passing one sister, Djuna Faye Bennett of Columbia, South Carolina; one niece, Marketa Bennett and one grand-niece, Jordyn Dayton of Columbia, South Carolina; two aunts, Lillie Bell Nelson and Katie “Monell” Bennett both of Camden, South Carolina; one uncle, Alphonso (Frances) Haile of Brooklyn, New York; and a host of cousins and close friends who will miss her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Stanley Bennett.

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