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Bill Benge -
1946-2006 |
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It is with great sadness that we give news of the untimely passing
of one of our 'Overseas' Lunchtimers.
Bill Benge - known to many of us as "Bilbo" from the days of the
CompuServe Masonry Forum - was a most welcome visitor whenever he came
to see us in London and was also a most wonderful & incredibly generous
host when any of us ventured 'Stateside'.
On the Library pages you can
see some of the photos taken during one of his memorable "hostings" - on
the occasion of Peta, Julian and
Pin's trip to Utah in 2002 - when he was proud to act as 'chauffeur'
for a very personalised guided tour of some of Utah's mountain regions
and tourist attractions.
Those of us who knew you will surely miss you, Bill and those of
us who had not met you have missed a most wonderful person.
Pin
The following quotation is
taken from the Salt Lake Tribune, October 29, 2006: |
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"Bill Benge died suddenly on Friday evening, October 20, 2006 of a
massive heart attack. Bill became Grand County's attorney at age 28,
and served its citizens in that capacity for most of the next thirty
years. Bill possessed a dry wit that bewildered some and earned the
adoration of others. He was compassionate and caring, combative and
controversial, and struggled with his own demons from time to time.
Bill spent his early years in Louisiana. His family moved to
Alameda, California when he was in elementary school. He graduated
from UC Davis and then from Boalt Hall, the law school at UC
Berkeley.
Bill Benge touched the lives of thousands in this community, for
more than 30 years, in so many different ways. We will always miss
the man who wore baggy shorts in the middle of winter and his
seersucker suits and his seafood gumbo." |
The following quotation is
taken from the Canyon County Zephyr Oct/Nov 2006: |
"For more than three decades Bill Benge was one of southeast Utah’s
most familiar and respected faces; when he died suddenly on Friday
evening, October 20, of a massive heart attack, he left a hole in
the Moab community that will linger longer than any of us can
imagine. For his many friends, our hearts are broken.
Bill Benge contained multitudes. He became Grand County’s attorney
at age 28, the youngest ever elected to that position in Utah, and
served its citizens in that capacity for most of the next 30 years.
But he was so much more than that. He was a gourmet cook. His cajun
specialities were addictive. He liked to wear the most outrageous
assortment of neon ties the civilized world has ever beheld. He came
to court wearing purple socks and sandals and the judges let him get
away with it because he also possessed a brilliant mind. He read
more books in a week than the rest of us might hope to skim in a
year. His taste in music was eclectic and his knowledge extensive.
If you stacked his old vinyl albums end-to-end, they might just
reach the moon.
He possessed a dry wit that bewildered some and earned the adoration
of others. He was compassionate and caring, combative and
controversial, and struggled with his own demons from time to time,
as we all do..
Bill was born in St. Louis on July 18,1946, but spent his early
years in Louisiana. His family moved to Alameda, California when he
was in elementary school. He graduated from UC Davis and then from
Boalt Hall, the school of law at UC Berkeley.
Bill discovered the canyon country and Moab in the late 60s and
worked several seasons as a river runner for of Tex McClatchy’s
Riverways. For Bill, he knew he was home. He passed his Utah bar
exam in 1972 and began a private practice but was called to run and
was elected Grand County Attorney in 1974. He left office briefly,
but returned in 1992 and stayed until his retirement in 2002. Bill
moved to Salt Lake City but was drawn back to Moab last year to
re-open his private practice.
Bill dealt with tragedy and adversity for much of his life. He and
his wife Anne McLanahan lost their infant daughter Winter in 1984
and their son Brie passed away in 2002. For decades Bill struggled
with his health and endured diabetes and several heart attacks; he
had triple bypass surgery in 1994 when he was just 47. He was also,
toward the end of his life, a proud and active member of Alcoholics
Anonymous. It was a cause to which he was uncompromisingly devoted
and which ultimately gave him the peace and happiness he had sought
for so long. Having found that serenity, he sought to help and
support others as well.
Bill Benge touched the lives of thousands in this community, for
more than 30 years, in so many different ways. We will always miss
the man who wore baggy shorts in the middle of winter and his
extravagant ties and his seersucker suits and his shrimp remoulade
and seafood gumbo. We will ache with the memory of his incredible
mind and his irreverent sense of humor, his quiet compassion and his
gentle, sometimes courtly manners.
If you took all of us who loved him and laid us end-to-end, we might
just reach the moon as well.
Jim Stiles"
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