Eric Gerard Benson

Eric Gerard Benson left us suddenly on December 24, 2022. He was 69. Son of Gertrude (Phillips) and Frederick Benson, beloved husband to Anne Higley and loving father to Katie and Brian. Eric was also Erik. His mother preferred the Irish spelling, but his father stuck to his roots and spelled his son’s name with the more Swedish k on the birth certificate. He just never told anyone until much later, when at 16, Eric filed for his driver’s license. (“Surprise, you’re really Erik!”) Born and raised in Jackson, Michigan, where he attended school at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea and Lumen Christi High School, Eric moved to Delphos, Ohio, his senior year of high school and graduated from St. John’s High School. He attended the Lima branch of Ohio State University (and no, we’re not inserting the “The” there!), earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from Toledo University, and later, his master’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University. After meeting Anne at MSU, they married in 1981 and proceeded to follow the recession around the country, first in Houston, Texas, where Eric worked for Oteco Oil Company, then to Maryland outside Washington, D.C., where he began his health care human resource career at Suburban Hospital. After moving to Oak Park, Illinois, in 1987, Eric worked for Martha Washington Hospital, Ravenswood Hospital, and Advocate Health Care in Chicago. In 1999, he and Anne moved downstate with Katie and Brian to Charleston, Illinois. Eric proudly served as vice president of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System in nearby Mattoon until his retirement in 2019. After retiring, Eric joined Anne in Bloomington, Indiana, where he served on the boards and committees of Constellation Stage and Screen, South Central Indiana Human Resources Association, Stone Belt Arc, Inc., and Beacon, meeting new folks and making friends wherever he went. Though his ticker was cantankerous, he was a man with a huge heart. He loved his wife and children so much, but he made room in that all too large heart for the Detroit Tigers and Lions (as much as it pained him many years); the antics of the stock market; British murder mysteries and John LeCarre novels; York, England; long weekends with family at the Stratford Festival in Ontario; the music of Motown; March Madness; Tom Izzo; the joy of children; Spicewood II’s annual luminaria; and, of course, a good story. He had a few to tell through the years. Gone before him are his parents Gert and Fred, brother Mark, niece Rachel Campbell, grandniece Hannah Campbell, grandnephew Teddy Campbell, and brother-in-law Michael Campbell. Left to celebrate his life are his wife Anne, his daughter Katie and son Brian as well as his brothers John, Fritz, Tony, Chris, Mike, and his sister Mary. He left us too soon and the world will feel his loss. Eric would recommend that those who knew and loved him attend a live theatre performance. Look up Mark “the Bird” Fidrych. Watch a minor league baseball team. Include others. Read about the world. Travel. Laugh. Make someone smile. The family thanks cardiologist Dr. Lakshminarayanan for many years of keeping the ticker running and the nurses and staff of IU Bloomington Hospital’s ICU for their kindness. Eric’s life will be celebrated at a memorial service in Jackson, Michigan, in the spring. In lieu of flowers, we suggest donating to Constellation Stage and Screen (or your local community or regional theater); Stone Belt Arc, the Arc of Indiana or the national Arc. Allen Funeral Home and Crematory, 4155 South Old State Road 37 in Bloomington have been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at allencares.com

Tributes

Eric Gerard Benson

April 26, 1953 - December 24, 2022