Dr. Earle McConnell Bennett passed away peacefully on October 18, 2026. Born on August 5, 1944, in Hemingway, South Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Maron Barnwell Lee, Sr. and Charlotte Meadows Lee.

After graduating from Hemingway High School, she attended Columbia College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Education. Earle began her career teaching at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. After moving to Walterboro, SC, she was a devoted stay-at-home mother to her three children until she returned to work teaching at the Colleton Area Vocational Center. While teaching full-time, she worked tirelessly to earn her Master of Education and her Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. She later moved to Columbia, SC, where she was appointed to the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School Board of Trustees.

She was actively involved in a number of organizations, including the State, Regional, and National Business Education Associations; the American Counseling Association's National Vocational Association; the South Carolina Vocational Association (SCVA); Columbia East Rotary; the Daughters of the American Revolution; and she volunteered for Missions Columbia.

Beyond her professional achievements, Earle was known for her strong faith and love for Jesus, which she exhibited in her everyday life and in her love for those around her. She loved being a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, wanting nothing more than to be surrounded by her family. The beach was one of her favorite places, where you could always find her looking for shells or sitting on her porch eating boiled peanuts and listening to beach music.

Earle is survived by her brother, Joe Lee (Linda), and her sister-in-law, Nancy Lee (the late Marion B. “Snookie” Lee, Jr.). She leaves behind her three children: Ernest Russell “Tuck” McConnell, III (Kathy), Charlotte Lee McConnell Cox (Eric), and Joseph Barnwell McConnell (Amanda); and her stepchildren: Mary Katherine Anderson (Mike), Susan Bennett, and John Bennett, Jr. She was a proud grandmother to her eight grandchildren: Caylee McConnell, Riley McConnell, Reese McConnell, Olivia McConnell, Barnes McConnell, Annabelle Cox, Aiden Cox, and Jacob Cox; and her step-grandchildren: Wesley Kaminer (Stephanie), Kristopher Anderson (Shelby), and Matthew Lever.

She was preceded in death by her father, her mother, her brother Marion B. “Snookie” Lee, Jr., her loving husband, Dr. John Neyle Bennett, Sr., and her stepdaughter Karen Elizabeth (Liz) Bennett Lever.

 A graveside service will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 24, 2026, in the Garden of Devotion Cemetery, located at 800 South Georgetown Highway, Johnsonville, South Carolina. Flowers in her name may be sent to the Morris Funeral Home Chapel, 416 N. Main Street, Hemingway, South Carolina, 29554.