‘He had a kind heart.’ Beaufort icon Nathaniel Bennett dies at 64

Everyone seemed to see Nathaniel Bennett on Monday in the usual Beaufort places.

Tim Newman honked and waved at Bennett on Bay Street.

Wendy Pollitzer saw him Monday evening in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, hooded sweatshirt on and sitting with a to-go box outside Plums Restaurant.

Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen saw Bennett on Monday afternoon outside the post office on Charles Street.

Allen told Bennett to be careful in the cold. Bennett said he would take care of himself and asked about Allen’s sister, Bennett’s classmate at Beaufort High School.

Allen saw Bennett again late Monday night, after one of Beaufort’s most well-known faces had died of natural causes. Bennett, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime Beaufort resident, was 64.

“He’s a Beaufort landmark,” Allen said.

Bennett lived in Bostick’s Adult Residential Care home on Duke Street and could often be seen walking around town, requesting money, a bite to eat or ride across town, passing out compliments and asking about family members of those he saw often.

Bennett graduated from Beaufort High in 1972 and joined the Army, said his sister, Charlesetta Bennett. She couldn’t provide more specific details of Bennett’s service Tuesday.

Funeral arrangements had not been set Tuesday morning.

Bennett was one of five children, and his family called him “Rufus,” his middle name.

“He had a kind heart,” Charlesetta said. “If he could do something for you, he would do it.”

Bennett watered Pollitzer’s plants when she lived downtown and complimented her daughters, she wrote in a Facebook post.

People also did things for Bennett.

Newman said he is among a handful of people who gave Bennett money each time he saw him. And he offered him rides around town.

Local restaurants that barred Bennett from coming inside would leave him a meal outside or bring him something to drink.

Chip Dinkins, who operates multiple Bay Street restaurants, gave Bennett a pack of cigarettes one year on Bennett’s August birthday. From then on, Bennett was sure to remind Dinkins whenever his birthday was coming up.

Newman said he once left a friend who had too much to drink in the backseat of his Toyota pickup truck on Bay Street while he returned to the bar. When Newman came out to check on his friend, he found Bennett standing watch at the truck but unaware there was a man passed out inside.

Bennett recognized Newman’s friend when he saw him again a year later.

Another time Newman saw Bennett as he drove away from Bricks on Boundary Street. When he parked at Bay Street on the other side of town, Bennett was there to open his door.

“I said ‘Do you time travel?’” Newman said.

Newman had recently talked about taking Bennett on a boat, something Bennett told him he had never done. Bennett could frustrate people he encountered downtown, but the same people would often help him out, Newman said.

The men first met when Newman was a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputy. Bennett was in and out of jail for various misdemeanor offenses related to his life spent largely in the street.

“He had his personal battles,” Allen said “He was always pleasant when I spoke to him, always greeted me with a smile.”

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 10:52 AM with the headline "‘He had a kind heart.’ Beaufort icon Nathaniel Bennett dies at 64."