grave import

Obituary

Paul Edward Benson died on January 3, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia where he had been living since 2002. He was born March 21, 1920, in Burlington, Iowa, the son of Signa Wilhelmina Swanson and Paul Nels Benson, and graduated from Burlington High School, Class of 1937. He attended Burlington Junior College, graduating from Iowa State University in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Economics and a minor in Forestry and Architectural Engineering. He was a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity, and played the bagpipes with the Scottish Highlanders when he was at the University of Iowa. In 1926 he and his father founded Benson Lumber and Coal Company at 1205 Lucas Avenue. Prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army on July 22, 1842, he worked at the Iowa Ordinance Plant in West Burlington. He attended Officer Candidate School in Camp Lee, Virginia, and graduated as a Second Lieutenant on February 26, 1943. He departed with the 3210 QM Service Company for England on April 21, 1944. He participated in the landing on Utah Beach, Normandy, and provided supplies, especially gasoline, to U.S. troops in Northern France, the Rhineland, and the Ardennes. He was attached to the staff of General George Patton during the breakthrough at St. Lo, Normandy France. When he returned from the war, he managed the Eclipse Lumber Company before purchasing the Union Supply Company, Inc. with his brother Robert Benson. He sold his interest in Union Supply in 1975. The brothers were pioneers in the distribution of antennas and televisions in the 1950's. He served on various committees of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, was treasurer of the Des Moines County Taxpayers Association, and was county chairman for the congressional election campaign of David Stanley, Muscatine, Iowa. He was a life-long member of the Messiah Lutheran Church. He was president of the Rotary Club in 1960, a member and president of the Burlington Golf Club, a member of the New Crystal Lake Club, and board member of the YMCA. He served on the Southeastern Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America, where he received the Pilot Award. He was also a troop leader, Star Scout, and a recipient of the Order of the Arrow. Paul enjoyed fishing and hunting and spent many winters on Siesta Key, Florida, where he was a volunteer tax advisor. He married Patricia Lightfoot of Fort Madison, Iowa, on September 10, 1946. Paul was preceded in death by his daughters Becky Benson and Kathryn Ann Clarkson, and his wife of fifty-two years. Surviving family members include his daughter Barbara Howell and her husband Peter of Atlanta, Georgia; son John Benson and his wife Gloria of Miami, Florida; daughter Susan Todd and her husband John of Greeley, Colorado; seven grandchildren, Hayden Smith Temin and her husband Jon, Claiborne Smith, Haynes Todd, Perry Todd, Ingrid Benson, Erika Benson, and Paul Todd; three step-grandchildren, Adair, Sophie and Olga Howell; and brother Robert W. Benson and his wife Jackie of Iowa City.