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I never had the opportunity to meet this great man, but will miss him.

Please use For Sale forums to sell

Please - NO offers to Buy or Sell in this forum category

Statements such as, "I'm thinking about selling this." are considered an offer to sell.
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My thoughts and prayers are with Dicks Family. So sad to hear this this morning. I will miss you you old crow..youre lidding quarts in heaven for God now. I hope your passing was peaceful my friend. You will be missed.


Hubba: GAS GEEK , OIL FREAK of Seattle WA
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A couple of days ago it dawned on me that I hadn't heard from Dick for quite awhile. We used to trade PM's and emails about issues on this site, the hobby, our work, and pretty much anything that was on our minds. The first thing I thought of when I heard of his passing was I wish I had contacted him when I thought of him a few days ago.

I don't remember ever being a target of DB's wrath, but he was the target of mine from time to time when I was a moderator and admin on this forum. He often admitted that he was too hard on people on here. His message was usually spot on, it was his delivery that was too matter of fact for some. He didn't like phony people or people that were too full of themselves. Under that gruff exterior was a very nice and helpful guy. I remember him saying he cried when Chris Holt died.
One thing is for certain, the hobby lost one of it's most knowledgeable contributors. Back when we had several regular weekly and monthly features in the showcase forum Neal Dunn hosted a contest called Neal's Gas Pump Challenge where he'd post a picture of a small portion of a gas pump and people would post what kind of pump they thought it was. Neal discontinued the contest because DB would always win the contest. It took DB all of 18 seconds to post the correct answer one week. He was instrumental in identifying many rare pump images when Jim was building the gas pump album.

DB would watch the weather and send me an email when the forecast high would be 10 below zero here in Illinois saying he'd be thinking of me while working in 80 degree temps that day.
DB's passing is a huge loss for the hobby, and and equally huge loss for those of us that considered him a friend.

My sincere condolences to Judy, and all of DB's family and friends.
Bob Drake


Wanted: Gas pump globes:Sinclair & affiliates, IL companies. Ripple bodies. Anything Sinclair, Stoll, Pierce, 4 Bros.


http://www.lastgas15.com/
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I too am sad to hear of Dick's passing! He always helped me with information about this great hobby we all share. It seemed weird to me that Dick emailed me this past week to ask me for help on the value of a Conoco sign he just picked up in a collection he bought last week? It was only weird , because it was always me asking all the questions. Glad and sad we got to share that time together.
You will be missed .
Ric


Wanted: Conoco, Marland, Eason, Cliff Brice, Speedway and Oval E stuff!
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I was shocked when I read this this morning! Me and DB would talk in PM`s alot and I always enjoyed his quick wit I could never top him ever. We talked alot when he fixed some cans for me he was a great guy and there will only be one Dick Bennett, he was the first one to welcome me to the site and was always a wealth of information.

Dick you left us way to soon, I will miss you very much my friend and may God be with you and your family, I have loved you like a brother.

Ron


I am always looking for anything Texaco or Oklahoma oil and gas company's, also I am a newbie at seeking globes.
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Very very sad news, the hobby will not be the same.
Thoughts and prayers to Dick's family.
Joe

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My deepest sympathies to his family. Loved to hear his comments on this site.

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I was in Santa Paula about 10 years ago and went by his house. What a nice guy. I am very sorry to here that.

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Sad news on his passing.

His fount of knowledge was amazing even in the short time I experienced it.




Collecting anything keeps you young at heart!
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Wow, sad to hear about the loss of such a great guy, but also amazing to read all of the comments and see how any people DB impacted in his life here on OG. Although I never had the chance to meet him in person he was more then helpful to answer my newbie questions and enlighten me to his "little" bit of gas knowledge! " sarcasm " ....... I always appreciated learning about my new hobby from him. With an open invite to stop by his and Robs any time I was in the area seemed like a great time, especially since he came off as a tough skinned old timer who didn't put up with the BS. I admired this in him in such a pussified politically correct society to speak his mind.
Thanks DB for all you did for hobby in your life and after, my prayers go out to Mrs.B .... That you may feel the love and comfort of friends, family and memories of a life that will not be forgotten.
Jeremy


Looking for Johnson anything and Ca gas signs and ?
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This site will never be the same without him.
As he once told me..." Not everyone can be a Dick"...

My heartfelt sympathies to his family.
R.I.P..Dick.


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I had to wait until my emotions cleared before posting about DB. I really enjoyed reading all of the different posts about the connections with him and the way he had of personally connecting with so many!
From the beginning of my interaction with this site, I immediately became friends with Dick, because we seemed to understand each other. It wasn't hard to get to know the man, if you took a few moments and really listened to him. He was very kind hearted and at the same time misunderstood, because of his gruff exterior. I think it was his way of keeping the phonies at bay!
Our interactions over the years seem to mirror much of the way that he interacted with many of the rest of you. It seems he was great with the PM messages, and used it as his preferred method of interaction with the membership. We had many phone conversations in the past, but much more frequent was the occasional PM that contained his opinion on a subject, and every once in a great while, he would offer up a question on something! I never really knew if the question was sincere, or just a method he used to open another conversation.
Sometimes the messages were daily and at other times it would be a few weeks before another interaction, but you could always count on it happening! It seemed that anytime I asked a technical question, he had the answer at the tip of his tongue, and never had to refer to any materials, he had the info stored in his brain!
I was privileged enough to have his personal cell number on speed dial and if you had access to that phone number, you had a wealth of information available. I remember the first time I called him on his cell and he snapped at me as to how I got the number! I replied that he had sent it to me in a PM, so that I could call him in the future, and he laughed and said "Oh that's right"! I felt sort of "approved of" when I got that from him.
For the first couple years that I knew DB, he often referred to me as "NEWBIE", and I once asked him how long it took to be shed of that moniker? He replied that he would let me know when I got there, and guess what!!! That day never did arrive, but there was a time when he finally stopped referring to me as "NEWBIE", and maybe that was my graduation day? For him to officially tell me that would have been for him to admit that I actually knew something, and I believe it was just his way of telling me without ever really acknowledging it. He used that method with a lot of things and I imagine that the rest of you experienced the same thing in one way or another!
Every once in a while, an event like this reminds me of my own mortality and brings me back to earth again. It is too easy to get so taken up with daily life that we forget the importance of faith and friends on this journey we call life. The enjoyment we get from our self imposed journey and possessions, tend to transcend the "REAL" things that surround us and are available if we can only notice them, and it seems to take events like this to bring us back to reality and the really important things in life!
I am truly saddened with the loss of DB and felt like we had a kinship of sorts, as we were only 2 or 3 months apart in age (him being older). We grew up at the same time in this world, just on different paths and different locations, but we both experienced the same world history and watched the same world unfold. From 1948 until now, has been a great time to be alive, and one of the greatest treasures I gained in this time, is the insight and friendship given to me by others like Dick. These will carry me through to the end, but I will really miss the loss of future interaction with him. We have all lost a great friend--mentor--teacher--collector--historian!! Rest in peace Dick Bennett--Rest in Peace!!


Picture is Dick Bennett and Mick DsChida gutting a Tok 36B in the Iowa Gas parking lot--2011

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Last edited by K W FRITH; Sat Aug 30 2014 12:43 PM.

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Last night I was just to shook up to say much. Just couldn't believe what I was hearing.Today reality has set in,and it's a very gloomy day here. Like many of you,I also conversed with DB on a regular basis.(wow! Just think of the time he spent ,helping all of us!) not only did we talk about Petro,but we talked about pugs(private hotline when Bella was sick or acting up)lemons and oranges and peaches,(remember "bowling for oranges at Iowa Gas?)roller nozzles(the famous pile of rollers at Iowa) and of course BEER! At our first meeting years back at Iowa,he gave Steven over a dozen of his labeled oil cans. Dirty jokes arrived in my email,and made me laugh many times.Sometimes he'd talk my ear off,and I'd finally say" Say Goodnight Dick!"( and of course he'd say" Goodnight Dick!) could go on and on,but I' ll just say "Goodnight Dick" one last time. Prayers sent to his wife and family from the Dschida's and Bella

(Bella getting a good scratch from one of her best friends)


Looking for gas,oil related clocks,especially neon and spinners .clock repair available. Mick
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You wake up each day and really never know what it will bring. There are certain moments in life that just demand a higher level of a attention and care to detail. The moment itself even demanding respect. There are things we do all the time, and for the most part, the moment in which we do them, is basically meaningless. But then there comes a day, a moment in time, when that same mundane task takes on a completely different meaning. Like the day of my Dad's funeral. A good shine on my dress shoes has always been a small pet peeve of mine. And I always knew there would come a moment when I would be putting a shine on my shoes to attend my Dad's funeral. And then that day came. And I will absolutely never forget shining my shoes that morning. It was a sad mement to say the least, but still a special moment that demanded attention to detail. A moment, that to me, demanded a certain level of respect. A moment that I shared with my Dad as I knew he too appreciated a good shine on your shoes. Like on a Sunday morning before church. I'm sure that's were I got it from.

So today I awake, and I find out that the hobby has lost one of it's patriarchs. A man I never even met. And a man that for some reason, I have come to really appreciate. A man who was a surprising pain in my side when I first found this hobby and this web site. I say a surprise because I didn't expect such responses. Despite my stupid questions. Who was this guy? And why did it feel as if he had it out for me? Well that man of course was Dick Bennett. And in time I think we came to terms. Or at least I know I came to terms with him. It took a while but eventually, as I matured in the hobby a little bit, I learned to feel his sarcasms. To see his wit. Which once the vale was lifted on his wit, wow, what a guy!! A lot of fun! And through it all, and most important, to see his knowledge. I saw him beat up on a few others, and I wrote to them and tried to comfort them a bit. Through my experiences with him, tried to get them to see his motives. That a certain level of respect was due him as well as other senior members around here.

So Oldgas will go on. And Oldgas will still be a great place with great people. But there is no way Oldgas can ever be the same. For the newbies that will never feel his wrath. You will never know what joy you missed out on!

Well, today, I take a moment. A special and repectful moment, and I shine my shoes for you DB! RIP Mr. Bennett and may the one true God, the God of the Bible, be with, and bless your family in this tough time.


Steve Coppens
Always interested in Sunoco items!
Really want a Sunoco National pump ad glass!!
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I can not begin to say how many peoples lives DB touched, in just the 1 1/2 years I have been on this site, there was hardly a day that he wasn't posting help or advice to someone. Him and I are from the age of no computers or smart phones, if you needed help. you looked in a manual or if lucky had an older experienced hand like him near, if you paid attention,you never forgot the lesson.

I never got to meet him, health issues kept me from IG in 2013, told wife I want to meet some of the people on here, so we went this past year, saw his note about not coming, hoping maybe something would change for him. It just shows, don't put off a visit with a friend, because you are busy, they might not wait for you.

Rest In Peace Dick !!
Raymond Rothlisberger

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