04/12/2026
Bennie Alfred Jennings passed away peacefully on April 5, 2026, at his home in Hermanville, MS. Born on November 21, 1933, Bennie was the oldest of two siblings born to Josie Nash Jennings and Simpson Jennings; the other, Katie Ruth Gibson, preceded him in death. He also had two siblings on his father’s side who preceded him in death, Mary D. Jennings-McBeth and Hattie White.
Bennie was educated in the Claiborne County Public School System. After graduating, he attended Grambling College, where he graduated with a B.S. Degree in Secondary Education. After college, Bennie served in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1955. He returned to Mississippi, where in 1956, he married the love of his life, Mildred Blackburn. To this union, three daughters were born: Charon, Marion, and Brenda.
In 1960, Bennie and Mildred relocated to New London, Connecticut. There, he became the Executive Director of the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of New London County. He took the job of initiating, staffing, and directing a county-wide Pre-Vocational and Vocational Training program. He built a distinguished career spanning over 26 years there, where his dedication and strong work ethic earned him the respect of colleagues and friends alike.
His community involvement included membership in the OIC Executive Directors’ Association, the Connecticut Human Rights and Opportunities Commission, the National Council of Negro Women, the N.A.A.C.P., the Connecticut Association of Training and Employment Professionals, the National Management Association, and a Master Mason of the Jeptha Lodge. He served as the Director of the Southeastern Chamber of Commerce, the Y.M.C.A., the Mohegan Community College Advisory Council, the Indian Trails Council of Boy Scouts of America, a Board Member of the Southeastern Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and he was the former Commissioner of the New London Redevelopment Agency. His community service also includes the United Way, the National Vocational Education Association, the Governor’s Committee on the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission, the Connecticut Urban Renewal Association, the Private Industry Council, Corporation and Trustee of the Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, the New England Savings Bank, the New London Lions, Trustee of the Garde Arts Center and the Pequot Community Foundation. He is listed in the WHO’s WHO Among Black Americans, WHO’s WHO in the East, and he is the recipient of the OIC Gold Key Award, the Martin Luther King Community Service Award, and the United Way Service Award.
Holding dear to his precious memories: a devoted wife of 65 years, Mildred Jennings; two cherished daughters, Marion Jennings and Brenda Jennings; grandchildren, De’Vonne Thorpe and Jazmin Rogers; great-grandchildren, Kenneth Blake Jennings Thorpe, Anissa Thorpe, Maia Rogers, Malachi Rogers, and Maddison Rogers; and a host of other relatives and friends including a special niece, LaDonna Beasley Davis and a special nephew, Jabari Beasley.
