CORNWALL, Ontario – Gerry Benson, 78, of Benson Group, passed away this weekend.
“We ask everyone to allow us the time to grieve as a family,” reads a press release from the Benson Group on behalf of the family. “We are grateful for the privacy during this difficult time.”
Benson passed away at the Cornwall Community Hospital on Sunday, Oct. 28.
He will be remembered for his success in business and his work in the charity and the non-profit sector. As chair of the University Steering Committee Board, Benson was committed to bringing higher education and innovation to the City of Cornwall, and his work lead to new ventures such as the Cornwall Innovation Centre (CIC) and the Ontario Emerging Jobs Institute (OEJI).
Benson was a recipient of the Business Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce and was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his outstanding achievements.
Throughout his life, he was a strong supporter of charity initiatives and this included being a major sponsor of the Benson Charity Golf Classic and a supporter of the Msgr Rudy Villeneuve Foundation.
He is survived by his wife Claudette (née Carriere) Benson, his sister Agathe, his children Marty (Gloria), James (Betty-Jean), Kelly (Lorrie) and Joy (Francois), his 6 grandchildren Kayla, Tyler, Chloe, Gabrielle, Sara, Alexa; and one great grandchild Samuel. He was predeceased by his parents Gerald and Annette (née Leduc).
There will be no visitation. Ghe Mass of the Resurrection with Commendation and Farewell will be celebrated in Nativity Co-Cathedral 300 Montreal Rd., Cornwall on Saturday Nov. 3, 2018 at 11 a.m. The Rite of Committal will be held at a later date in Notre Dame Cemetery in Cornwall.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Wilson Funeral Home, 822 Pitt Street, Cornwall. Online messages of condolence may be made in the obituary section of: www.wilsonfuneralhome.ca
