Eleanor Johnson was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 8, 1921. She had two older brothers, Howard and Lawrence, and while her mother cared for the family her father earned money as a railroad engineer. When they moved to Florida, Eleanor attended Forest Lake Academy and worked at the nearby Florida Hospital for eight cents an hour.
Upon graduation from academy, Eleanor moved to Takoma Park to join the nursing program at Washington Missionary College. She worked for the Red Cross, helping service personnel from the just-ended World War II find relatives and make contact with their families. It was during this time that she was asked to go on a date with someone she had never met. It was Wilbur Bennett.
Wilbur and Eleanor were married on July 31, 1947. Three children were born to them—Glen, Mabel and Jeannette. Later, two grandchildren, Morgan and Jacqueline, would join the Bennett family.
As a wife and mother, her energy was never-ending. She also helped as a treasurer and clerk in her church, a Pathfinder leader, a soloist and member of the choir, sometimes even taking care of the church building.
In 1965 she joined Home Study Institute (now Home Study International) as a clerk and later became the registrar. She worked at Home Study International faithfully for 21 years.
Eleanor knew there had been miracles in her life. When she was five she was healed of double pneumonia, and in 1959 she was miraculously healed from a cancerous tumor. She praised God for that.
After Eleanor’s death in 1994, Wilbur Bennett established the Eleanor Mabel Johnson Bennett Endowed Scholarship to assist biology majors who are preparing for careers in teaching.