We at the Bennett Conservatory of Music mourn the death but celebrate the life and influence of Else Bennett, the last of the school's founding generation, and its director for half its seventy years of existence. Born Else Torp, she grew up on a farm in Denmark and remembers climbing a tree and throwing cherries at occupying German soldiers, something that would have been a lot more dangerous had she been a little older. Though her passion was art, she attended business school and was working as registrar of the Danish Royal Academy of Music when she met Charles Cedric Bennett, the violinist and youngest member of the Conservatory's founding trio. They fell in love and married two years later. She always called him Charles, but he often called her his beautiful Viking. After a stint in Los Angeles, where he worked as a music therapist, they came to Croton in 1974 to take over the reins of the Conservatory from the remaining founders Boyd and Anne Bennett, Mercedes and Gene Hill having died a few years earlier.

In June 2015, Croton's Mayor honored Else with a proclamation in recognition of her outstanding service to the Conservatory and to Croton, followed by a party and exhibition of her paintings at the Conservatory, and she turned the reins over to Jane Parkhouse, our current director.

Else was a warm and welcoming presence. Modest as a person, she took a genuine interest in all the students and staff. Justly proud of the handful of Conservatory alums who became famous as musicians, she took greater joy in following the careers of the many hundreds of children—even babies, during the Conservatory's years hosting Music Together—whose lives were permanently brightened by music. Her wonderful Danish cookies and cakes added greatly to receptions and parties. An accomplished painter, she excelled in pastoral and local scenes. She will be missed by the generations of the Conservatory's students and their families.

Else spent the last years of her life at the Danish Home in Croton, surrounded by love and care. She is survived by her niece Lone Engen, nephews Kurt Torp and Finn Torp, cousins Helle Dorf Kristensen, Karen Dorf Kristensen and Anders Dorf Lorentsen, all of Denmark; nephew Charles H. Bennett of Croton and nieces Barbara Bennett Woodhouse of Cedar Key, Florida and Nancy Van Loo of Gales Creek, Oregon; and by her dear friends Jim and Karen Neel of Croton, who became her ultimate guardians.

A memorial service for Else is planned this summer or fall, accompanied by a show of her paintings. It will be held at the Conservatory if public health guidelines permit, and otherwise online. In place of flowers, donations may be made to the Bennett Conservatory of Music, or the Danish home for the Aged, both 501(c)(3) organizations. If you have reminiscences, photos, or mementos of Else you wish to share, please email us at bennettconservatory@gmail.com and we will post them on the website or include them at the memorial service as appropriate.

On May 1st we, Karen, Anders and I, lost our beloved family member Else Bennett to Covid-19 at the Danish home in Croton NY.

She has always been a part of our lives now she is gone and she will be missed! We feel the need as the Vejgaard family to share our memories and send a memorial from Denmark.

Else grew up at her grandparents, my great-grandparents, at the estate "Vejgaarden" near Aalborg. She and my grandfather (and later my grandmother) had a very special connection that lasted a lifetime.

It was always my grandparents and "Vejgaarden" she returned to on holidays and visits after she got married to Charles Bennett in 1969 and moved to the United States.

In Croton NY, Else got a fantastic life with Charles. They loved each other so much!

Even though the distance to NY were great, Else was always caring for us and interested in how we were doing and I vividly remember the excitement as a child when a package arrived from the United States and the pride in going to school with a new smart lunch box or some Halloween stuff that Else sent and which at that time was unknown in Denmark.

Unfortunately, Else and Charles had no children themselves, but through their great work at the music conservatory they influenced generations of children and their families in Croton NY.

We are grateful to have had Else in our lives. Her warmth, caring for other people and her knowledge of art and music stays with us together with the memories of all the festive days together when she was back in Denmark.

I will always remember her and Charles's visits filled with high spirits, great fun and lots of music.

Lots of love from Denmark

Yours sincerely,
Helle Dorf Kristensen

Else was the youngest of a sibling group of three, with our father, Poul, being the oldest. The parents divorced when Else was approx. 1 year old, which meant she grew up without contact with her brother and sister.

It was not until 1997 that Else got back in touch with her brother and thus also us children and our families. It really meant a lot to us to get Else into our lives and family. We so much enjoyed seeing the great joy it was for brother and sister to be reunited. We were deeply grateful to finally get to know Else as the unusually lovely, warm and gifted person she was.

We all visited Else in October 2002. It was really nice to meet her in her beloved home, "The Bennett Conservatory of Music". Else referred to her late husband Charles as a very special and beautiful human being. After Charles' death, Else continued to run the music school in his spirit with strong commitment and passion. In that way, Else honored Charles and his love of music.

When we last visited Else in May 2017, she lived at "The Danish Home". It was great to see how well she had gotten on and to hear her express her gratitude for good and caring treatment. A big and warm thank you to Erik and his staff at "The Danish Home".

A big and heartfelt thank you to Else's valuable friends, Karen and Jim Neel, with whom she knew she would always get the support, help and care she needed. Karen and Jim were her close life friends, who at the same time were also like an extra family to her. Else was a dear and cherished friend who attended when the Neel family was reunited.

We also send a big and warm thank you to "The Bennett Conservatory and Music" for the loving and well-deserved memorial page about Else. You get in the best and most loving way, conveyed that her heart beat to that extent for the music and the children in it.

We are all deeply grateful that Else came into our lives and enriched it with her warm and lovely personality. Else is deeply missed, she will always be in our hearts; honored be her memory.

On behalf of the Torp family,
Finn and Lone Engen (Else's niece)

Visiting Else in October 2002: My father next to Else, my brothers behind her, me in the middle of my father and Else
and my husband and two sisters in law.