Laurence Benson

LAURENCE F. BENSON, 84, passed away at his home in Barrington, IL, on January 21st 2015, surrounded by his family.
Born on October 15, 1930, in Waukegan, IL to Margaret (Merchant) Benson and Harry A. Benson, his early years were spent in the Merchant family house at 220 Julian Street, one of the oldest houses in Waukegan.
He graduated from Monmouth College, IL in 1952, and was drafted into the Army. He served in the Counter Intelligence Corps in Korea. Returning to civilian life he began a career in advertising sales, joining The Wall Street Journal in their Midwest office. He later became Eastern Advertising Manager for The Journal and moved to New York.
He returned to the Midwest in 1970, forming his own advertising sales representative company which later became known as Benson, Coffee Associates. Some of their accounts included Psychology Today, Woman’s Day Specials, the Magazine of the Navy League, and American Library Association publications.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, and his children: Peter, Susan (Trevor DeSilva), and David, and by his grandchildren, Trevor Ryan, Thomas, and Megan DeSilva, and David’s daughters Carly and Jessica. His nephew, Christopher Leech(Terri), son of his late sister, Barbara, also survives him.
He was greatly loved and admired by his family and colleagues, and will always be missed. He had wide ranging interests in current affairs, sports and the world of business and in the stewardship of the family’s Barrington countryside property. He was a champion swimmer in High School and College, and he swam throughout his life for exercise and recreation. Vacation destinations usually included snorkeling among coral reefs. A lifelong reader, this greatly helped him through the last few years of illness. He was above all devoted to family and country.
His cremation will be followed by interment at a later date in White Memorial Cemetery. For donations in his memory, please consider; The Salvation Army Waukegan Corps Community Center, 850 South Green Bay Road, Waukegan, IL 60085, or JourneyCare Hospice, 405 Lake Zurich Road, Barrington, IL 60010.

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