Philip J. Di Benedetto

He spent his childhood in Brooklyn and graduated from Grover Cleveland High School. He served in the United States Army from 1948 to 1952 as a Medic in Germany. He supervised training of the medics at Landstuhl Hospital, which is today a major Army Hospital. He met his wife, Margarete, who was also working for the United States Army as a nurse in Germany. They came back to the United States and married in 1952. They had their first child, Mary-Rose, in 1953 and then their second child, Thomas, in 1954.

Philip worked his way through Queens College, graduating in 1957. He then started his career in the Social Security Administration where he rose to Midwest Regional Commissioner, based in Chicago and then West Coast Regional Commissioner, based in San Francisco. He then served as Deputy Commissioner for Field Operations throughout the United States before retiring in 1986 following 30 years of service. Philip then became an archivist for the University of Virginia Library.

He and his wife, Margarete, moved to Ashland to be near family and resided here for the past 13 years. He was a member of St. Edward Catholic Church and enjoyed traveling.

Surviving are his children, Mary-Rose (Allan) Andersen and Thomas (Laura Howard) Di Benedetto; grandchildren, Heidi (Dan) Jentes and Kristina (James) Murphy; great grandchildren, Erika, Alyssa, Daisy and Lexi McFrederick and Isaac Murphy; step-great grandchildren Dan and Sam Jentes; sister-in-law, Ursala Heinsohn; and co-parent, Jean Andersen.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Margarete (Fiekel) Di Benedetto on July 25, 2015.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 1:00 p.m. Monday, June 6, 2016 at St. Edward Catholic Church, celebrated by Rev. Father Rodney A. Kreidler. Burial will follow in Ashland Cemetery. Friends may call from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Ashland Home of Wappner Funeral Directors, 308 Claremont Avenue, Ashland. Memorial contributions may be made to Brethren Care Village or Hospice of North Central Ohio.