Bennett (nee Dooley) Ruth Ann Bennett, died Tuesday, May 21, 2013 in her Cleveland home where she had been under hospice care since suffering a stroke May 6. Ruth Ann had been in failing health for the past several months as the trauma caused by a brain aneurysm she suffered more than a decade ago finally began to win a battle that she had successfully overcome for years. She celebrated her 76th birthday on May 5 with her husband of 54 years, Robert T. Bennett, Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, her children, grandchildren and twin great grandsons Mason and Riley. Wakes will held in Cleveland and Columbus with a Funeral Mass to be held at Holy Cross Church in Columbus where Ruth Ann attended Mass as a student at St. Joseph Academy. Ruth Ann was born in Marceline, Missouri, but moved throughout the World War II years with her family as required by her father's work on the Manhattan Project. After the War, the family moved to Columbus where she was later to meet her husband Bob. The couple moved to a home in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, in January of 1961 following Bob's graduation from the Ohio State University. She quickly made Cleveland home, where she raised the couple's two children, Robert T. Bennett, Jr. and Rose Marie Bennett-Yonek and eventually kept her loving eye and steady hand on the lives of her grandchildren, Marine Second Lt. John Bennett, granddaughter, Jaclyn Bennett and grandson, Ryan Bennett. Ruth Ann also had a successful career as a Realtor for Lawrence Realtors in Cleveland, but outside her family and her dog Maddie, her considerable affection and determination was channeled into raising money for UH Rainbow & Babies Hospital Circle of Friends Program. She was a founder of the program and became well known for reminding contributors that it was all "for the babies." Ruth Ann (nee Dooley) was proud of her elevated position in her family where she ranked as the oldest of 63 grandchildren and played an active role in organizing family reunions. Much to her delight, the reunions were held surrounding her family's Missouri farmlands every five years. She also remained close to her sisters, Ce Ce Matyac and her husband, Daniel, Dottie Sue Rice and husband, Steven; and brother, Joseph Dooley and his wife, Barbara. Her sisters and brother all reside in the Columbus area. Ruth Ann is also survived by her daughter Rose's husband, John and son Bobby's companion, Becky Vardian. Her father, Alonzo G. Dooley and mother, Loretta Quinn, as well as a younger brother, Creigh Dooley, precede Ruth Ann in death.