Monday, February 4, 2013

NWA Capt. Virgil W. Bench

~ IN MEMORY ~
NWA Capt. Virgil ‘Virg’ William Bench
October 27, 1926 ~ January 28, 2013
Notification of the passing of WWII veteran and retired NWA pilot Virgil ‘Virg’ William Bench, age 86. Although the obituary says retired from Northwest Airlines, and given the captain’s age, I suspect Captain Bench retired with Republic prior to the 1986 merger with NWA. If anyone has more information to offer, please advise and we can post it.
To view/sign the online guestbook please visit http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=Virgil-Virg-William-Bench&pid=162800683#fbLoggedOut The funeral home website http://www.menkefuneralhome.com/ does not appear to be updated yet. No services are scheduled locally at this time.
Captain Bench had most recently resided in Arizona c/o Frances Pevoto at
14402 N Cameo Drive , Sun City AZ 85351-2405.
Thank you for any additional information that you might be able to pass along.
~ Carol
Obituary:
Virgil ‘Virg’ William Bench, age 86, of Sun City, Az., died at 10:25 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, from undiagnosed massive blod clots at Freedom Plaza Hospice in Peoria, Az. He was born in Barton, Ohio to Eleanor (Bertine) an Charles Bench, Sr.
A graduate of Alliance High School, he served in the United States Navy during World War II, Virgil was a commercial airline pilot for 33 years. He retired from Northwest Airlines.
He loved running, swimming & bicycling. In his early years, he was a body builder, achieving the title of Mr. West Coast in the early '50s. Surviving are his daughters, Cindi Bench of Sugarland, Tx., Gina Bench of Houston, Tx., his grandchildren, Tyson Ray Phillips of Houston, Tx. and Alayna Marie Phillips a college student at San Marcos, Tx.; his sister Violet Rowell and brother Jerry Bench of Alliance, Oh.; and many nieces & nephews. Also surviving is his longtime companion, Ms. Frances Pevoto of Sun City, Az. In addition to his mother and father, Virgil was preceded in death by his wife Lorraine (Johnson),from whom he was divorced; his brother Charles Bench, Jr.; sister-in-law, Mary (Kacarab) Bench, and brother in-law-law, Milo Rowell. According to his request, cremation has taken place, and there will be no services locally. A Memorial will be held sometime in May in Alliance, Ohio. Arrangements are made by Menke Funeral Home. Sun City, AZ.

1 comment:

  1. I am Virgil Bench's daughter. Yes, he did retire from Republic Airlines and also before that flew with North Central. Thank you for catching that mistake. Dad is still soaring the skies. He was a hard worker and dedicated to his job. Thanks again, Cindi Bench

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