Merv Bennett, a former member of Colorado Springs City Council and a major force behind the growth of the local YMCA, died Saturday after a long illness, former Mayor John Suthers said. Bennett was 77.

“Our city has lost one of its finest citizens,” Suthers said in a statement. “Merv Bennett’s love for Colorado Springs led him to remarkable levels of community involvement. He’ll be missed by all who knew and worked with him.”

A native of La Junta, Bennett joined the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region as assistant director of physical education in 1971 and served in several leadership positions during his 40-year tenure with the organization. He retired as president and CEO in 2011.

Under Bennett’s guidance, the local YMCA chapter received the Better Business Bureau’s Excellence in Customer Service award in 1996 and garnered a four-star “exceptional” rating from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit evaluator.

“Merv has the biggest heart in the world and a giant portion of that big heart belongs to the YMCA,” said then-board Chair Ed Gleason upon Bennett’s retirement.

After retiring from the YMCA, Bennett ran for City Council at the urging of friends and colleagues, according to earlier reporting by The Gazette.

Among his council achievements was the agreement to lease the city-owned Memorial Health System to University of Colorado Health — now called UCHealth — which voters overwhelmingly approved in August 2012.

Bennett’s first term coincided with that of Mayor Steve Bach, the city’s first strong mayor. His presence often served as a stabilizing influence when Bach and council failed to see eye-to-eye.

“He had been one of the voices in that four years of a lot of dysfunction between the council and the mayor, and I think he had been an example of someone who kept his calm and tried to work with the mayor and the council,” Suthers said in 2019. “He was kind of a bridge builder.”

When Suthers ran for mayor in 2015, he asked Bennett to run for a second term on council. Bennett and Suthers won their respective races that year.

Bennett served stints as council president and president pro tem, as well as chair of the Colorado Springs Utilities Board of Directors.

“Merv was a consummate gentleman and it was my great pleasure to join with him in tackling some of the city’s biggest challenges,” Suthers said. “My heartfelt condolences are extended to Merv’s wife Roseann and the Bennett family.”