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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
BENJAMIN, Harry Vernon - age 98, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama passed away Tuesday, February 21, 2023. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Harry was a retired franchisee of the Dale Carnegie Course. Before moving to Birmingham in 1963, he instructed the DCC in St. Petersburg, FL, Daytona Beach, FL, Pennsylvania and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1967. Harry always called himself a Canadian by birth, an American by choice and a Southerner by the Grace of God.
During World War II, he served on the high seas in the Royal Canadian Navy, Allied Forces, doing convoy escort duties on HMCS Arvida and minesweeping duties aboard HMCS Georgian in the English Channel. He was a member of the American Legion and the Royal Canadian Legion.
At various times, he served as a director and treasurer of the Dale Carnegie Sponsors' Association. He was a builder of people, touching the lives of more than fifteen thousand men and women during his business career. He was a member of Vestavia Hills Methodist Church since 1963. He was a charter member of the Sales & Marketing Executives Club of St. Petersburg, FL and a charter member of the Saints and Sinners Club of St. Petersburg. For many years, he was a member of the Sales & Marketing Executives Club, the American Marketing Association, American Institute of Training Directors, a member of the International Platform Association and was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham for more than 50 years. He was the recipient of the prestigious Kiwanis Hixson Fellowship Award. He also received the Americanism Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution for his qualities of leadership, trustworthiness, patriotism and service as a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was a Kentucky Colonel and a member of Clan MacKenzie, as well as the Newcomen Society. He was a longtime member of the Downtown Birmingham YMCA and treasured the many friendships he developed there. An accomplishment for which he was most proud, was establishing a continuing scholarship in honor of his father, the Benjamin Benjamin Scholarship Fund at Colonel Gray Senior High School in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In a life of struggle and hard work, he had many successes, but his greatest success was as a loving and kind husband, daddy and friend.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Benjamin and Georgie Weatherbie Benjamin. Harry is survived by his wife, the former Donna Jane Farmer and their children Harry V. Benjamin, Jr. (Pat) of Chicago, Joan Lewellyn, Nancy Benjamin, Charlie Benjamin of St. Petersburg, Leslie King (Clay), and Doug Benjamin, seven grandchildren, Amy Murray, Megan Connolly (Sean), Ben Lewellyn (Elaine), Walter Lewellyn (Britton), Cris King, Margo Terrell (Kent) and Clayton King and five great-grandchildren, Shea Connolly, Griffin Connolly, Marygrace Connolly, Riley Murray and Sam Lewellyn.
Honorary Pall Bearers: Frank Harper, Mickey Newsome, Joe Fant, Eddie Lumpkin, Bill Dawson, John Lauriello, Jim O'Kelley, Bob Whetstone, Ray Hester, Rick Lauer, Keith Holloway, Jack Held, Tunstall Perry, Eric Wood, Bob Wood, Mike Holt, Ernest Stevens, Billie English, E. K. Maloof, Bernard Chapman, Sam Heide, Willie Bass, Henry Gedson, James Barnes and Ron Golden.
The family would also like to extend its appreciation to the caregivers from ABC and to Rosalind for caring for both Harry and Donna during this time.
Services will be held Tuesday, March 7th at 11:00, with visitation beginning at 10:00, at Vestavia Hills Methodist Church, Rutland Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Kiwanis Foundation, 2019 – Fourth Avenue, North, Birmingham, AL (The Birmingham News 27 Feb 2023)
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