Rita Ann Bennett

Rita Bennett passed away peacefully at home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts on June 8, 2024. Rita was born on August 14, 1943, in Springfield, Ohio to General Thomas P. Gerrity and Margaret (Briscol) Gerrity with her older brother, Thomas. She grew up at Wright-Patterson Air Force base, and as expected with the Air Force’s family script, rotated in and out of domestic air bases in Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma. Managing relocation with its personal growth and challenges became her life’s career script. Throughout her many moves and transitions, Rita developed deep friendships that stood the test of time and geography.

Rita earned her B.S. in History, Political Science, and Art History at the University of Oklahoma and studied at the Institute of European Studies through their University of Vienna campus. Her post-graduate learning ranged from the Carl Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, to the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Management Program at the Wharton School. Rita flourished through her international living experiences in Hong Kong, Munich, Vienna, and Zurich. She had multiple relocations in the US, including child-raising and her early professional life in Chicago, Evanston, and Wilmette. She lived in Oakland and Saint Helena, California then downsized in Beacon Hill, Boston, and finally settled in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. A constant sanctuary throughout these moves was a family cabin in the wilderness of East Rosebud Lake, Montana, with its crisp mountain air, abundant wildflowers, and John Denver on repeat.

While shepherding her three children through the school and social systems of Hong Kong, Rita continued to develop her cross-cultural expertise and interventional skills. She was trained by the Hong Kong Marriage Guidance Counsel as a counsellor. Completing her training, Rita developed its first intercultural communication group for women in the mid 1970’s. She also served on the board of the Hong Kong Institute of Intercultural Communication and held the position of Director of English Based Services and designed and co-facilitated its signature program, Exploring the Rhythms of Life.

Repatriating to the United States, Rita focused on Fortune 100 companies’ executives and their accompanying family members who required personal and business skills to ensure success in their new and confusing cross-cultural environments. Within ten years, she became an industry leader and successfully led two international consulting firms. In a courageous career move, Rita, along with her husband Martin, founded Bennett Associates, an international management consulting and training firm. After developing offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, Bennett Associates was purchased by Cendant Corporation. She remained as Managing Director of Cendant Intercultural, the Bennett Group, until 2001.

Rita served on the Board of Directors for the Society for Human Resources Management from 1994 to 2010. She was President of SHRM’s Global Forum Board in 2000 and served on the Board from 1996 to 2002. She was a member of SHRM’s Internationalization Task Force, which led to the development of the Global Professional of Human Resources certification. She participated as a subject matter expert in the creation of the SHRM Global Learning System. In addition, Rita also served on the faculty of SHRM’s International Certificate Program for over eight years.

She was a frequent speaker at corporate conferences, contributed articles and manuscripts for professional magazines and publications and was frequently quoted in the popular press regarding global leadership, cross border teams, and the strategic management of international assignments.

While attending a “Women on the Move” corporate conference, Rita began to consider a new focus, that of women who were refugees and displaced. After spending 20 years focused on corporations, Rita began to use her multicultural and management gifts in service of international humanitarian and refugee relief services. Along with Marty, Rita became a supporter of Jesuit Refugee Service, advising the organization over the past two decades as a donor, volunteer, board member, and grassroots organizer. She was committed to the JRS mission: “Inspired by the generous love and example of Jesus Christ, JRS seeks to accompany, serve, and advocate the cause of forcibly displaced people, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future.”

Rita is survived by her beloved husband, Martin Bennett, and her children, David (wife, Sam), Thomas (wife, Audry), and Kara (husband, Tim), along with her cherished grandchildren, Sarah and Rebecca Morrow, Luke, Annabelle, and Scarlett Morrow, and Henry and Julia Casey, her brother, Thomas Gerrity (wife, Anna) and their four children and her brother-in-law Peter Fallon and his daughters.

A wake will take place from 5pm to 7pm on June 12, 2024, at the Lehman, Reen & McNamara Funeral Home, 63 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Brighton, MA 02135. Funeral services will be held at 10am on Thursday, June 13, at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church, 28 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, followed by final internment at the Newton Cemetery and Arboretum, 791 Walnut Street, Newton, MA 02459. A luncheon will then follow at the Boston Marriott Newton, 2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA, at 1pm Thursday.

In lieu of memorial flowers, please share Rita's support of refugees and displaced people by donating to Jesuit Refugee Services/USA, either electronically at: https://www.jrsusa.org/donate/ or by mail at: Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, 1627 K St NW Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006.