Stephen Richard Benn

Stephen R. Benn, of Merritt Island, FL went to be with the Lord on February 3, 2021. Steve was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 14, 1947, the son of Stephen Michael Benn and Mary (Urbanick). He moved to Cocoa Beach at the age of ten when his father, an engineer, received a job offer at Cape Canaveral to work on the Atlas ICBM missile project. He graduated from Cocoa High School (class of 1965.) Steve continued his education, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in Criminal Justice and Meteorology from Shelbourne University. Steve joined the Rockledge Police Department in 1965 where he worked as radio dispatcher for 3 years. He was honored as ‘CB’er of the Month’ when he saved the lives of three men whose boat was sinking as he guided, over a three-hour phone call, a Coast Guard rescue boat to the sinking shrimper. Steve joined the U.S. Army in 1968 as a Military Intelligence operative, where he served for some time in Vietnam. Upon being honorably discharged from the Army in 1968, Steve joined the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department as a Special Agent in an organized crime unit. In 1984 Steve became the special assistant to Brevard County Commissioner Theo York, and in 1986 he went to work for the Brevard County Code Enforcement Department, where he worked for 7 years. In 1993 Steve moved to the Brevard County Emergency Management Office, where his love of Brevard County could really shine. He wrote the evacuation and shelter plans, secured $7 million from FEMA for hurricane shutters for schools and community centers, and established the first pet-friendly shelters. For his achievements he was awarded the coveted Governor’s Emergency Management Award in 2002. That same year he became the first full-time Brevard County Historical Commission Director, where he successfully established the Brevard County Historical Marker Program. These include marker signs for the Ulumay Native American encampment on Merritt Island, Honest John’s Fish Camp in Floridana Beach and Juan Ponce De Leon landing site on Melbourne Beach, as well as many others. He retired from the Historical Commission in 2009, after solving an 81-year old mystery concerning the disappearance of 1928 aerial maps of Florida’s coastline-the first ever taken. After 7 years of requests made to the National Archives turned up nothing, the aerial pictures were finally discovered in an 800-cubic-foot storage facility at the Federal Records Center in Boulder, Colorado. The Historical Commission designated Steve as “Director Emeritus” upon his retirement. As a young man, Steve was a member of the Cape Canaveral CB Radio Club, The CB Rangers, an organization which helps law enforcement agencies on search and rescue missions, and the Brevard County Civil Defense Team. Steve was a member of the Valiant Air Command, a Mason, and a PBA member. He donated blood several times a year and was awarded the 10-Gallon Donor award by One Blood. Steve was an avid coin collector and history buff, especially the history of Oak Island and the Knights Templar. He was extremely knowledgeable about all things related to aviation, and he loved to speculate about the future of space travel. He was the kind of man who called the appropriate offices about a pothole in the street, or about overgrown brush and trees that blocked drivers’ views. He donated regularly to the Boy Scouts of America, the SPCA, and he made friendships with all of his neighbors. Steve adored his Family, his County, and his Country. Steve is survived by his loving wife, Jennifer, and three Siberian Huskies, Odin, Ocoee and Kahlua. Steve is also survived by his cousins, Marie Zakis (Urbanick), Bernie Urbanick and Joseph Urbanick, Ted Bens, and second cousins Angelo, Jason and Mercedes. A Funeral service is scheduled for 2:15 PM on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, 5525 US1, Mims, FL. Arrangements by Wylie-Baxley Funeral Home, Merritt Island, 452-6565.