Donald Edward (Don) Benson

Donald Edward (Don) Benson of Lanvale Road, Leland, NC, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, following a long illness. Born in Sarasota, Florida on March 4, 1943, he traveled the globe with his military family from Japan to French Morocco and many USA states in between.

He graduated from the base high school in French Morocco and joined the Navy. He served on a carrier off the coast of Florida during a difficult time for the United States in the Kennedy era. He attended East Carolina University, then went to South Vietnam, working for American Express.

Returning from Vietnam, he worked in commercial construction for 20+ years before opening his own residential construction company in 1992. He loved traveling and scouting out land and building homes; his employees were his extended family. He enjoyed hosting pig pickings for employees, colleagues, and family groups, and grilling steaks for the extended family including his mother-in-law’s “Golden Girls” pool party group. Don loved his doggy family and could be spotted driving around subdivisions with his black poodle, Megan, in the front seat.   He received a difficult medical diagnosis in 2006 and retired in 2009.

Don was a member of St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church, helping in various ways.  

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roscoe Edward and Ava McCoy Benson and his brother, James “Jim” Benson.  

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Judith Gainey Benson, a daughter, Heather Leanne Benson, a son, Roger Stanley, grandsons Anthony Trull and Sean Bryant, sister and brother in-laws, Debby and Danny Young, nieces, Yuzette Benson Smith and Michelle Thompson Zavetsky, great nieces Wendy Willams and Kalyn Smith, great nephews Zachary and Noah Zavetsky.

The family extends its deepest gratitude to Dr. Kira Alatar and staff for her many years of positive and thoughtful care, the wonderfully caring members of the Leland EMS squad and to Cindy Lawrence, RN, BSN, MSN and Dr. John M. Reynolds of DUMC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Paws Place (or one’s favorite animal shelter) to honor Don’s love for animals or to Brunswick Senior Resources, Inc.’s Care Giver Support.

Services will be held at St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church, 612 S. College Rd, Wilmington, NC at 3:00 PM on August 3, 2019, internment at 4:00 PM at Greenlawn Cemetery (corner of Shipyard Blvd and 16th Street). Family will receive visitors before the services at the church.