FITCHBURG -- Theodore Steward Bennett, 81, of Fitchburg, died Tuesday, Jan. 2, in HealthAlliance Hospital/Leominster after an illness. He was born Nov. 16, 1925, in Keene, N.H., son of the late Frank and Daisy (Taylor) Bennett. He is a graduate of Fitchburg High School and a life-member of the Fitchburg Alumni Association. He served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II as a dog trainer for the 50th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon. He was a member of the Elm Street Congregational Church in Fitchburg, where he had served as a trustee, a member of the Board of Elders, a Sunday school teacher, and on the Fellowship Hall Building Committee. For many years, he was the chief cook at the church’s annual chicken Bar-B-Que sponsored by the Men’s Club of the church. He served as vice-chairman of the Fitchburg School Committee from 1958 to 1974. During his tenure on the school committee, he spearheaded the building of three new schools in the City of Fitchburg -- Reingold Elementary, Crocker Elementary and the Memorial Middle School. He also served on the Fitchburg Athletic Advisory Board, and during his tenure he was instrumental in establishing hockey as a varsity sport in the city of Fitchburg. In 1961, he led an all-out city effort to send the Fitchburg High School band to Pasadena, Calif., to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade, seen by over 60 million television viewers. This was one of many FHS band trips that he helped to coordinate during the 1960s and 1970s. These included the 1965 World’s Fair in New York City, the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. in 1961, The World Exposition in Montreal, Canada in 1967, and two trips to the Festival of States in St. Petersburg, Fla. in 1968 and 1972. He was a referee through the National Intercollegiate Hockey Officials Association for over 30 years. As a competitor, he placed first in the New England Silver Skates Derby held in the Boston Garden in 1940. He also placed in many senior New England ski races in the 1950s and 1960s. He worked in sales for his entire life, covering a range of industries in all six New England States. Most recently, he worked as National Sales Manager for Wayne Dalton Overhead Door Company until his retirement. After his retirement, he and his wife, Ruth, traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad including several trips to their favorite island of Bermuda. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Ruth E. (Syrjanen) Bennett; one daughter, Marcia L. Hebert, and her husband, Raymond, of Shirley Center; Richard W. Bennett, and his wife, Rita, of Manassas, Va., D. Scott Bennett, and his wife, Debby, of Bradford; Jeffrey S. Bennett, and his wife, Tracey, of Lincoln; and Douglas A. Bennett of Fitchburg. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; one brother John Q. Bennett and his wife, Sharon, of Laguna Woods, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by three brothers, Frank R. Bennett, Robert A. Bennett and William N. Bennett. BENNETT -- The funeral will be held Friday, Jan. 5, at 11 a.m. in Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Road, Fitchburg. Burial will follow in the Massachusetts Veterans Cemetery, 111 Glenallen St., Winchendon. A calling hour will precede the funeral Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. Memorial contributions can be made to The Highlands Nursing Home Activities Fund-Alzheimer’s Unit, 335 Nichols Road, Fitchburg, Massachusetts 01420.