- Date Of Birth: June 19, 1925
- Date Of Death: July 12, 2019
- State: New Mexico
On Friday, July 12, 2019, Benson Noice Jr., loving husband, uncle and father of three passed away at the age of 94. Benson was born on June 19, 1925 in Paterson NJ to Benson Noice Sr. and Catharine Cooke Noice. He received his bachelor’s from Colby College and his master’s from the University of Pennsylvania. Benson taught History at Mount Pleasant Jr. High and Concord High School for over 30 years in Wilmington DE. On December 31, 1955, he married Mary Ann Wenke. They raised two sons, David and Richard and one daughter, Catharine.
A child of the Depression and a broken marriage, he had 52 mailing addresses by the time he was 30. His beloved Aunt Sadie was his salvation as she paid for him and his siblings to go to prep school including his alma mater, Hoosac School. Benson proudly served in the Merchant Marines where he survived a tanker crash near the Admiralty Islands and the 38-day, 12,000-mile return trip with a broken bow across the Pacific. Benson served in the Army in the late 1940’s and was stationed in Korea. The GI bill helped to pay for his college and eventual master’s degree. In addition to Colby and Penn, Benson studied at Berkeley, U of Minnesota, West Chester and the U of Delaware. He had a master’s plus 60 credits and his only regret was not seeking his doctorate.
Benson’s love for history was initially inspired by watching Gone with the Wind and then reading Toynbee’s six volume, A Study in History. He was an outstanding teacher and inspired many students to become teachers with innovative projects involving genealogy, field trips to Gettysburg and debating the validity of the Kensington Stone. During his summers, he taught countless campers to sail and canoe at Camp Rodney, Camp Tockwogh and Camp DeWitt.
Benson was an expert chess player. He started playing by mail at the age of 16 and won a hand carved chess set by beating the chess champion of Delaware. He was a lifelong writer with a published family history that was completed in 1991 and had written a four and a half volume science fiction novel Challenge and Response. He loved sailing on Lake Winnipesauke, along the Maine coast and the Chesapeake Bay.
After retiring from teaching in 1986, Benson and his wife Ann moved to Windsor, California. They traveled the world with the highlights being Russia, China and New Zealand.
Benson is survived by his wife, Ann Noice; his sons and their spouses, David and Judy Noice, Richard Noice and Sarina Farley; and his daughter, Catharine Noice. He has four grandchildren, Katie Noice, Megan Noice, Natalie Robles and Benson Robles and one great grand-daughter, Judith and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Catharine Noice Barrows, his father, Benson Noice Sr., and his siblings, James Noice and Harriet Dunlap.
