John I. Benson, Jr.

Former long time Cottonwood resident, John I. Benson Jr., died July 28, 2007 at the Veteran\u0027s Hospital in Muskogee, OK after a brief illness. He was 84 years old. Mr. Benson was a resident of Cottonwood since 1975 and moved to Oklahoma in 2000 after the death of his wife, Val, in 1999. With increasing dementia, he became a resident of the Oklahoma Veteran\u0027s Center in Talihina, OK in 2004 where he lived until recently being transferred to Muskogee. He was born March 21, 1923 in Alickchi, OK to John I. Benson Sr. and Anna Elizabeth (McCormick) Benson. He served in the U. S. Army Air Corps during WWII from 1943 to 1946 as a Gunnery Sergeant. After working as a mechanic and as Service Manager for Ford Motor Co. for several years in Texas, he moved his family to California where he worked as a heavy equipment operator. He was a member of Local 12 of the Operating Engineers Union until he retired in 1975 and moved to Cottonwood. In Cottonwood he worked as a carpenter for Doug Wright Contracting and then went to work building houses with his son-in-law, Gene Schoonmaker for a number of years. He was a devoted family man and, after retiring from construction, he liked nothing more than spending time hunting, fishing, and camping with them. He was an avid and expert gardener and also loved working with his hands making wood crafts. His four grandchildren cherish the beautiful cedar chests he made for each of them for their high school graduations. Mr. Benson is survived by two daughters, Phyllis (Tom) Yates of Columbus, TX and Sue (Gene) Schoonmaker of Cottonwood; grandchildren, Chris (Bryan) Armstrong of Simonton, TX, Greg (Mona) Yates of Wallis, TX, Jeff (Joan) Schoonmaker of Eugene, OR and Laurie (Jeff) Campbell of Litchfield Park, AZ; great-grandchildren, Cory, Devon, and Colton George and Jim and Carrie Armstrong of Simonton, TX and Gabriella and Everett Yates of Wallis, TX, Tyler and Meagan Schoonmaker of Eugene, OR and Brittany and Jordan Campbell of Litchfield Park, AZ. He is also survived by a brother, James (Faye) Benson of Idabel, OK and a sister, Wanda (Jack) Jordan of Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ, sisters-in-law, Becky Benson of Cottonwood, Mary Benson of Youngtown, AZ and Carolyn Benson of Murfreesboro, TN; many beloved nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews; and his wife, Pauline (Pickens-Adams) Benson. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Anna Benson; his beloved first wife of almost 57 years, Val; brothers, Jerry, Bill and Larry Bob Benson; sister, Jean Harris; brother-in-law, Milburn Harris; sister-in-law, Patsy Benson; nephews, Jimmie Benson, Mike Jordan and David Benson and nieces, Sally (Benson) Nance and Linda Harris; and also many beloved aunts and uncles. Visitation will be Friday, August 3, 2007 from 6pm to 8pm at Westcott Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held 11am Saturday, August 4, 2007 at Westcott Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Oklahoma Veterans Center, Talihina Division, P.O. Box 1168, Talahina, OK 74571. Donations may also be made to the Alzheimers Association. Donations should be made in the name of John I. Benson Jr.