At the age of 20, Benito enlisted in the US Navy where he proudly served for 23 years. As part of this service, he received the National Defense Service Medal, multiple Good Conduct Awards, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Humanitarian Service Medal, Battle Efficiency Ribbon, and named Sailor of the Year during his tenure with US Fleet Activities Sasebo, Japan. Upon retirement, he went on to work as a civil engineer at Shiner Moseley & Associates for over 13 years contributing to bridge and infrastructure oversight in the state of Texas.
One of Benito’s biggest accomplishments was being a husband and a family man. He is survived by his loving wife Zenaida Eclarinal Calingasan and his children Candice, Joy, and Glenn (Michael). His 7 grandchildren were his pride and joy; he will be missed dearly by Braxton, Brandon, Aliyah, Abigail, Elijah, Sandy, and Zoey. Benito was blessed to spend time with his great-grandson Maxwell.
Benito was the seventh of ten children born to Elena and Remigio. He is preceded in death by both his parents, his brothers Juanito, Antonio, Renato, and his sister Asuncion. He is survived by his brother Pablo, and sisters Priscilla, Eufemia, Luz, and Fe. Benito maintained a close relationship with his siblings, 42 nieces and nephews and over 200 family members around the world.
A visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 pm on Wednesday, February 2nd and the funeral service will be on Thursday, February 3rd at 10:00am. Both services will take place at Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Legacy Lodge at Oaklawn Cemetery, 4801 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207.
To view the livestream of the service please visit:
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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