Wally graduated from Tenafly High School in 1948 and Rutgers University in 1952. A gifted athlete and a great competitor, he was a first team all-American lacrosse player at Rutgers and was named the Student Council Athlete of the Year in 1952. He served for two years in the United States Air Force in New Mexico and Arizona before going back to New York and starting a long and successful career in the insurance industry. He always loved New York, particularly his time at the New York Athletic Club where he was a lifetime member and served as president from 1988-1990.
Wally enjoyed relaxing on the water and built a home in Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod nearly 50 years ago, which has been a refuge and a source of countless days of family enjoyment that continue to this day. He was also an excellent golfer and longtime member of the Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, New Jersey.
Wally embodied everything that is good in human nature. He was generous, strong, and self-confident but not overbearing. He let his children find their own way and never pressured them to be anything they weren’t. He adored his grandchildren and they have all benefitted from his love and example.
Wally was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Arlene Beneville in 2012. They met in grade school and were in love for their entire lives together. He is survived by his two sons, Thomas Beneville and his wife Holly of Greenwich, CT, and Jeffery Beneville and his wife Anne of Jamestown, RI, as well as three grandchildren, Margaret Beneville and her husband Calvin Krogh of Brookline, MA, and John Beneville and Caroline Beneville, both of Greenwich, CT.
Memorial visiting hours will be held at Leo P. Gallagher and Son Funeral Home, 31 Arch Street, Greenwich, CT on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 from 4:00-7:00PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Wallace L. Beneville to the Chatham Conservation Foundation at 540 Main Street, Chatham, MA 02633
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