Roderick M. Bennett, Ph.D. passed away Friday, March 6, 2026 at Morristown Medical Center after a short, but brave battle with kidney cancer.  He was 77 years old.  A longtime resident of Basking Ridge, NJ, he is survived by his loving wife of 43 years, Ellen Dahlquist; their three sons, Paul, Stephen and Will; their spouses; and three beautiful grandchildren.  He is also survived by his twin brother, Doug Bennett and his family.

Rod was born in 1948 and grew up in Tenafly, NJ.  As a boy he began his lifelong love of reading and learning.  He took that passion for insight to Franklin and Marshall College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 1970.  He became a Danforth Fellow at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he earned his Ph.D. in Psychology in 1979.  Early in his career, Rod worked as a child psychologist at Children’s Psychiatric Center in Eatontown and then as the Coordinator of Outpatient Mental Health Services at Newton Hospital.  In 1985, he went into full-time private practice in Bernardsville providing individual, family and couples therapy, helping many people during his 47-year career.

Rod and Ellen married in 1982.  Over the subsequent decade, they welcomed their three sons into the world.  Raising three boys, the Bennett home was always filled with noise and chaos.  Rod was always the first one to come running when the boys hurt themselves or each other while wrestling on the floor.  If his family, friends, or clients mentioned a medical or personal issue, Rod would research the issue and order books from The Bookworm of Bernardsville to thoroughly investigate the problem and provide recommended solutions.  Rod’s primary gifts to his family over the years were inscribed books on topics of history, psychology, love, politics, and childhood development.  Rod’s home was packed with medical, psychology, and history books and magazines, and the Science sections of the New York Times.

Rod was an avid lover of all things historical, especially anything about architecture and Nantucket, where he spent summers as a child and where he brought his own family for years to vacation.  His children inherited his love of the beach and have many fond memories of bringing military surplus shovels to dig holes in the sand.  Rod built sand castles, let his granddaughters sleep on him and walked looking for interesting stones, rocks and shells to show his children and later his grandchildren.

He loved the arts and often the family would go to Broadway or the Papermill Playhouse to see musicals, like his favorite The Man from La Mancha.  Rod’s passion for the arts extended to poetry and he spent over 20 years writing his famous “Limericks from Roderick” for special occasions.  Sometimes they were one stanza and once it was a 45-minute epic poem.

In his later years, Rod’s passion for learning included his writing many treatises about psychological topics for both his clients and his family.  He was especially passionate about being a grandparent.  In preparation for the birth of his first grandchild, Rod spent many hours compiling one of his masterworks, an annotated bibliography of childhood development to help his children navigate parenthood, and then preceded to give it to each of his sons whether or not they had children.  He was a kind, thoughtful and generous man and is deeply missed by his family, his friends, and his clients.  His children often remarked that he was the most honorable man they had ever known, who taught them the importance of always learning, caring for others, sticking to one’s word, and loving one’s family deeply.

A private family service was held in July 2026 in Narragansett, RI.  Memorial contributions can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN or to Covenant House in New York, NY.  Arrangements were handled by Layton Funeral Home, 475 Main Street, Bedminster.  The family thanks all who sent notes, contributions, gifts and flowers to commemorate Roderick.