Donald Leffingwell Benson, Sr., 94, of Warwick, passed away on Wednesday April 27th at Kent Hospital after a brief illness. Don was the son of Simon Benson and Catherine Dixon Leffingwell Benson. He was the loving husband of (Florence) Jean Benson, who passed away in 2017.
After graduating from Mount Pleasant High School in Providence in 1945, Don met his future wife while they both were working for the Providence Journal Bulletin - he in the mailroom and she on the copy desk. After a stint in the U.S. Army from February 1946-October 1947, Don returned home and landed a job as a bookkeeper at Old Stone Bank in November 1948. He recalled that at the time, Old Stone was looking to hire returning veterans, regardless of banking experience. And it helped that he was good at arithmetic!
During his 38-year career at Old Stone, he rose to branch manager and eventually to assistant vice president in the retail mortgage department, helping countless new homeowners acquire mortgages.
At the state and local level, Don was very active in politics, even into his 80s. He was a one-time treasurer of the RI Young Republicans and of the New England Young Republicans. He also was instrumental in launching the statewide political career of the late John H. Chafee who, as a little known Republican state representative from Warwick, narrowly won the election for Rhode Island governor in 1962, and later went on to become a US senator in 1976.
As lifelong friends of the Chafee family, Don and Jean were a vital force in helping John’s son Lincoln Chafee get elected mayor of Warwick, before Linc took over the US Senate seat upon the death of his father. Jean even served as personal secretary to Mayor Chafee, a position she held throughout his term. Don served on the Warwick Housing Authority for more than 20 years and was honored when the authority named one of its activity rooms after him.
Both Don and Jean were volunteers at the Pilgrim Senior Center where he helped her call bingo games and organize trips for seniors to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. He also helped raise money as president of the Friends of Warwick Senior Centers. Don also was a lifelong member of St. John’s Masonic Lodge of Providence.
He was a devoted (and often frustrated) Red Sox fan, and one of his fondest memories was having attended the last game of hall of famer Carl Yastrzemski.
But the biggest love of his life, aside from Jean, was his four children, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Sadly he did not live to meet his ninth great-grandchild, whose parents were expecting a birth at the time of his death.
Don is survived by his children: Donald L. Benson Jr. and his wife Elaine Buderer of Columbia, MD., Patricia J. Armitage and her husband Glen Armitage of Warwick, Charles H. Benson and his wife Linda Benson of Warwick, and David A. Benson and his wife Penny Benson of Charlestown, MA., as well as seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. His service and burial will be private.
Funeral Arrangements are entrusted to THE URQUHART-MURPHY FUNERAL HOME, 800 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Warwick Central Baptist Church, 3270 Post Rd., Warwick, RI 02886. Online condolences may be shared at: www.murphyfuneralhomes.org.
