BENSON, Lynn Robert

BENSON

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 7/1/2018 at 22:11:40

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
Wedneday, March 28, 2018

Ventura mayor remembered for work ethic, integrity, kindness
by Steve Bohnel

VENTURA -- Lynn Benson wasn't a man to brag about himself. That didn't stop colleagues from noticing his tireless work ethic.

"He was very proficient in what he did," said Ventura City Councilman John Quintas. "He didn't look like he was doing a lot, but he got a tremendous amount of work done in a day."

Benson, 64, died Friday March 23 at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City. Local city officials remembered him as a man of great integrity, kind spirit and a well-respected figure in Ventura and its surrounding communities.

Clear Lake Police Chief Pete Roth remembered Benson as a kind person who was always looking to help his fellow citizens.

"He would always have a big old smile on his face," Roth said. "He was a great guy to know, and meant a lot to this community."

Council members also said Benson was also a snowmobile enthusiast. Brian Vaage said Benson was part of the North Iowa Snow Seekers club, and helped organize a couple events for the group.

He was mostly known around Ventura and North Iowa for his excavating work, for which he gained a great amount of respect because of his work ethic.

And even as he battled cancer for several years, Councilman Dar Avery said he was surprised when Benson stated he wanted to be Ventura's mayor — but added he was fully committed to its responsibilities. Quintas and Vaage said he frequented the gas station in town to catch up with fellow Ventura residents.

"He wanted this job," Avery said. "He wanted to serve."

And according to Ventura City Administrator Else Taylor, Benson's respect for the position — which he held for over four years — was evident.

"He had a quiet authority about him that few people possess," Taylor said. "He ran Ventura with integrity and had a great sense of humor."

Council members said Benson's commitment to serve was in part to give back to the community, and also to partake in some of the annual festivities — including riding in the Fourth of July parade.

Benson, a Forest City native, graduated from Forest City High School in 1971. He lived in the Forest City area until 1990, when he moved to Ventura.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31, at Cataldo Schott Funeral Chapel in Forest City. A procession will follow to the Ventura Community Center, assisted by Ventura city officials and the Clear Lake-Ventura Police Department.

Family and friends invite the public to join them at the Ventura Community Center from 2-4 p.m. to celebrate Benson's life. Instead of flowers, his family asks that memorials be made out to the Lynn Benson memorial fund.

Council members are still deciding how their next mayor will be chosen. According to Iowa law, they have either 60 days from the day the vacancy began to appoint a replacement, or they can choose to hold a special election, among other options.

For now, though, they are focusing on the life of a man who worked seven days a week, but seldom gloated about it. In an example of that, Quintas told a story about how Benson was working several years ago at the site of the Love's gas station in Floyd. He was doing "dirt work" at the site, subbing in for Charlson Excavating.

"The foreman on the crew ... for the company in charge of all of it came up to him (Benson) and goes, 'You're pretty smooth at this,'" Quintas said. "And he goes, 'Yea, I do alright.'" And (the foreman) goes, 'No, seriously, I'm watching. You're making three trips to their one.'"

"He would do it in a manner where you wouldn't notice it ... (he was) very humble," Quintas added.

~ ~ ~ ~

The Clear Lake Mirror Reporter
Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
March 28, 2018

Lynn R. Benson, 64, of Ventura, died Friday, March 23, 2018, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit, in Mason City, Iowa.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 31, 2018, at Cataldo Schott Funeral Chapel, 505 North Clark St., Forest City, Iowa, with Pastor Rod Hopp of Immanuel Lutheran Church officiating.

A gathering of friends and family will be held one hour prior to the services at the funeral home on Saturday.

Burial of cremains will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Lynn Benson memorial fund in care of the family.

The family invites everyone to join them for a Celebration of Lynn’s life that will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, at the Ventura Community Center in Ventura.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2018

Cerro Gordo Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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