- Date Of Birth: May 20, 1942
- Date Of Death: July 4, 2021
- State: Indiana
James Elbert “Jim” Benning, aged 79, of Plainfield IN passed away 4 July 2021. He was born 20 May 1942 at the Good Samaritan Hospital Cincinnati Ohio. Son of Clyde Oliver & Evelyn Anna (Barnard) Benning. He attended, Bright Elementary and on his birthday in 1960, his class of 60 were the first to graduate from North Dearborn High School in Dearborn County IN. He graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1964.
James E. Benning, Vice President of Power Operations retired 1 Jan 1995 from PSI Energy. He joined the company in 1966 as an Engineer at corporate offices. He was promoted to Relay Engineer in 1966 & to System Operations Assistant in 1968. In 1972 he became System Relay Engineer, then in 1973 to Protection & Communication Manager. In 1978 he became Planning Engineer, then System Planning Manger in 1979.
He joined with Mary’s interests into genealogy & attended conferences across the U.S. Jim’s great-grandfather, Johann Heinrich Buhning came from Heringhausen Hannover in 1843 to Cincinnati, OH.
Jim enjoyed a wonderfully active life. One summer he biked from Plainfield IN to his Dad’s home in Lawrenceburg IN, a distance of more than 100 miles & came back to Plainfield the same day. He participated in the Hilly Hundred in Bloomington IN in ’88, ’89, & ’90. He also completed the Indy 500 Mini Marathon three times. He was a member of a bowling team for 28 years. He had a high game of 290 & a high series of 745. In 1981 he took flying lessons & was co-owner of a 1964 Piper Cherokee airplane.
He enjoyed auto racing, one of his favorite drivers was Tony Stewart. Jim attended 43 Indy 500 races. For his 60th birthday he rode the two-seat tandem Indy race car at the Motor Speedway.
Jim had traveled to all 50 states, been through the Panama Canal, traveled to several parts of Canada, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Holland, Japan and Germany. He as been twice to Ireland (’96 & ’98). He was successful with driving on the opposite side of the road, and he even kissed the Blarney Stone while there. While in Costa Rica he enjoyed the Canopy Tour of nine platforms 100 feet from the jungle floor. In 1996, he traveled by mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon & back. It’s been the most talked about adventure along with some horrendous, but memorable camping trips with his family.
In emergencies, he was always calm. In 1979, he saved a man’s life by performing CPR. Also, when Michelle (daughter) had an awful bike accident, he acted quickly.
He was generous to his children and offered to help in funding college for his grandchildren.
Jim was a blood donor; his goal was to reach 20 gallons & in March 2021 his total was 209 pints; over 26 gallons.
Jim was married 56 years to Mary Catherine Frakes. They married on the 23rd of December 1964 at St.
