Eloise Gaylor Bennett was born April 4, 1941 in Natchez, Mississippi, to Samuel and Irene Gaylor. She graduated from Southern University with a Bachelor of Science degree. She met her husband, the late Sylvester Leonard Bennett, Jr., while they were riding a Greyhound bus.

Following her graduation from Southern University, she became a teacher in New Orleans. After her husband received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, they moved to Cleveland where she worked as an English teacher. She was a dedicated and successful teacher and continued her education by earning a Master’s Degree from Cleveland State University. She worked for the Cleveland Municipal School District until she retired in 1999.

After her daughter was born, her life shifted to family. Eloise found immense delight in loving and nurturing her only child, G. Lynette, and later spoiling her two grandchildren, Lynae and Robert. She enjoyed cooking for her family, watching sporting events and going on family outings and vacations.

Eloise was a quiet and reserved woman. She was a member of Antioch Baptist Church. Playing Scrabble, quilting, cooking, reading, and computer games satisfied her creativity and gave her peace. But it was the life shared with her husband, family, and friends that sustained her happiness and joy of living.

She is predeceased in death by her husband, Sylvester Leonard Bennett, Jr. She leaves to cherish her memories, a daughter, G. Lynette Hairston; son-in-law, Robert Gerald Hairston, Jr.; two grandchildren, Lynae Robin Hairston and Robert Leonard Hairston; a sister, Doris Armstrong; a brother, Lee Andrew Gaylor, and everyone else who loved her.