Robert G. Bennett, Jr. 54 of Weaverville, passed away Thursday, September 23. A beloved art teacher at ABTech for more than 20 years, he is survived by his partner, Tashah Love Thompson; daughter, Syvannah Kay Bennett of Sheffield Lake, Ohio; and his mother, Margaret Jane Riley of Fort Worth, Texas.

Bob earned his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, and was a proud member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He moved to Asheville with his family in 1996 and established a flourishing art-furniture business called Blended Talents. In 2001 he became an adjunct professor of art at ABTech and remained there until his death. His dedication to his students was all-encompassing for him and he often let them know it with tears of pride in their accomplishments and words of encouragement if they stumbled. He will be greatly missed.

Bob's love for live music, dancing and camping brought him into many more people's lives, he and Tashah could certainly cut a rug! His local family grew even larger when he joined the softball team for Black Mountain's Town Pump and became a regular volunteer at LEAF. Bob's forever family with the Western North Carolina Disc Golf Association will be planning for his final services at a later date.

The family will receive visitors at his home in Weaverville, North Carolina on Saturday, October 9th after noon. In lieu of flowers, any donations can be sent to LEAF, The Learning Community, and Evergreen Charter School in honor of his amazing daughter.