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A photo of George Benning

George Benning 1897 - 1946

George Lawrence Benning of Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington United States was born on April 21, 1897 in Boone, Boone County, IA to Immogene Nelson (Millard) Benning and William Joseph Benning. He had siblings Lloyd Harold Benning, Walter Joseph Benning, Lois Jemima (Benning) Los Kamp, Nelson William Benning, Henry Clay Benning, Cora Mary Benning, Mabel Benning, and Grace Benning. George was baptized on February 9, 1908 at Mesa Baptist Church in Pueblo, CO. He married Mildred (Wilson) Benning in 1922 and they later divorced in 1926. They had a child Lois (Benning) Ewen. He married Eileen Constance (Tasker) Benning on September 29, 1928 in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, and they were married until George's death on August 23, 1946. They had a child Marian Joyce (Benning) Kroetch.
George Lawrence Benning
Georgie, George L. Benning, George Benning
Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington United States
April 21, 1897
Boone, Boone County, Iowa, 50036, United States
August 23, 1946
Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington, United States of America
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George Lawrence Benning's History: 1897 - 1946

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  • Introduction

    George Lawrence Benning was born to William Joseph Benning (1852 - 1930) and Imogene N. (Millard) Benning (1854 - 1916) in Boone, Iowa. He had 9 siblings: Nelson, Henry, Lois, Cora, Walter Joseph, Grace, Arthur, Mabel and Lloyd. He was the youngest. George was married twice, first to Mildred Wilson, and his second marriage to Eileen Constance (Tasker) Benning had Marian Joyce (Benning) Kroetch. He also had a daughter, Lois (Benning) Ewen, from his first marriage to Mildred (Wilson) Benning. His second family lived first in Seattle, then Portland, then in Bremerton Washington, a small port town which grew during WW2. He owned the Chevrolet car dealership in Bremerton. Micky Reed, the owner of the Reed Chevrolet dealership in Bremerton Washington, was on a local river fishing trip and drowned. Micky's widow, Meeka (who I, his granddaughter knew, since she and my grandmother were friends until they died), sold the dealership to George. He called it Reed-Benning dealership as an homage to Micky. Chevrolet didn't like the fact that a woman (oh lordy, a WOMAN!) sold the dealership on her own so they made new rules. The upshot? When George, my grandfather, died, my grandmother couldn't sell the dealership! He was very active in the business, social and political components of the community. I know that he was a Freemason and a Shriner, and that he had some strong relationships with State politicians. (Note from his granddaughter: George was good friends with Warren Magnuson, first a US Representative and then a US Senator. Evidently, Magnuson used to spend summers at my grandparent's house - I saw a letter of condolence from him to my grandmother when George died, expressing how much he would miss George and referencing the wonderful summers he spent at their house. Also in their social circle? Names that you would recognize today: the Gates' - yes, that Bill Gates family - the Nordstroms , and more. The Seattle/Bremerton community was small then.) George also was instrumental in establishing the Elks Lodge in Bremerton, and was involved with the creation of the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. George was also a founding member of the Isaac Evans American Legion Post in Seward, Alaska in 1919. One cool story about George: He had a bit of real estate in Bremerton and rented these homes to his employees. Upon George's death his will stipulated that the deeds to the homes get passed along to the employees. Also, the story my Mom (George’s daugher) told me about the homes - the people weren't employees but simply people who lived in Bremerton at the time. Since George was a Mason, he was also involved in charitable activities. Mom said that no one (including family) knew that he had bought (I heard 3) houses for people who had problems paying rent and were going to be evicted. (This was probably around the end of the Depression.) He didn't charge the tenants rent and when he died he left the homes to the tenants. However, my sister (who says she has a copy of George's will), notes that there is no record of any homes being deeded.
  • 04/21
    1897

    Birthday

    April 21, 1897
    Birthdate
    Boone, Boone County, Iowa 50036, United States
    Birthplace
  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Although his Benning family emigrated to the US from Germany (northern) during the 1840s, his maternal line was of English and Dutch origins and (Millard) traces back to the Mayflower. Also, some of George’s maternal lines were in North America around 1605. That many times grt grandfather, Peter Winne, was a captain with the Dutch East India Company and he and his family settled here.
  • Nationality & Locations

    George was a United States citizen. Born in Iowa, George’s family moved to Pueblo, Colorado when he was about 2 years old. After he served in World War 1, George moved to Seward, Alaska, eventually moving with his first wife, Mildred, to Portland, Oregon. The family then relocated to Spokane for several months, then moved on to Seattle, WA when George received a promotion. to Seattle, Washington. After divorcing his first wife, George remarried to Connie Tasker. Several years after their marriage the depression forced the couple (with George’s’ daughter Lois and their new baby, Joyce)to remove to Portland, Oregon, where George found employment with a large car dealership. About 1938, the family settled in Bremerton, Washington where George became manager of Reed Chevrolet Dealership.
  • Early Life & Education

    George completed the 8th grade. His granddaughter shares: As a child of the 1950s, I thought everyone graduated high school and almost everyone in my family and extended family attended college. Turns out that I was the ignorant one. When George was a child, graduation from 8th grade was the normal end of education. Some went to college (and my own grandmother, who was 10 years younger and his wife, graduated high school) but that was the exception, not the rule. George demonstrated that he was smart and very good at business and my mom said "his handwriting was beautiful."
  • 02/9
    1908

    Baptism

    February 9, 1908
    Baptism date
    Mesa Baptist Church in Pueblo, CO
    Place of worship
  • Religious Beliefs

    George was a non-practicing Baptist. He was heavily involved with Freemasonry and active with his blue lodge which requires a belief in a higher power.
  • Military Service

    George enlisted in the US Navy five months after his mother Immogene Nelson (Millard) Benning passed away. George was hit hard by his mother's death and he always blamed his father for her passing. Navy in WW1 Military ID# 1114953 George enlisted in the Navy in Denver, Colorado on April 16, 1917. His profession was listed as 'clerk' and he had been living at 725 B Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo, Co at time of his enlistment. His father, William Benning, is listed as his next of kin and he was residing at 331 W. Adams Ave., Pueblo, CO. George's pay per month once in the Navy started at $17...his paperwork states that he was 21 years, 11 months old; he was 5 ft. 6 1/2 inches tall, had medium brown hair, ruddy complexion and blue eyes. He had an inch long mark on his right breast, and his fingerprints are on the paperwork. In June, 1917, George was in the hospital and was stationed at the Naval Station in San Francisco from 1917 to 1918. Feb. 4, 1918 George opted to take $5,000 in life insurance while at the US Naval Training Station in San Francisco, CA. The life Insurance was noted to go to his father, William. Note: The Navy listed his date of birth as April 21, 1895 and George verified that information was accurate... We have no idea why he lied about his year of birth as he was almost 20 years old when he enlisted. November 26, 1917, George was rated a Storekeeper 3rd class, and rated "Very good" on all of his test scores... May 7, 1918...qualified as Storekeeper 2nd class...received "very good” "on all scores... June 30, 1918 George was in Mare Island, CA and finally assigned to the USS Saturn until discharged in 1919... From Dec. 30, 1918 to Jan. 12, 1919 stationed at Vladivostok, Russia...rated Chief Storekeeper in 1919...rated Chief Yeoman in May 1919... making $60 per month at this point... July 19, 1919 Honorable Discharge at Mare Island, CA ...by Special Order , Secretary of the Navy.....requested mileage to Portland, Oregon, which George notes as his "place of enlistment" (tho it wasn't...). However, gives his PO address after discharge as 150 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA (his sister Lois' address...) He was recommended for the Good Conduct Medal and for reenlistment, if he chose to do so.... USS Saturn (1898-1922, later AG-4) USS Saturn, a 4840-ton collier, was built in 1890 at Wilmington, Delaware, for commercial use. Purchased by the Navy in April 1898, she carried coal to U.S. ships in the West Indies area during the Spanish-American War. In 1916-21, Saturn was mainly employed as a radio support ship in Alaskan waters, but carried coal, cargo and radio gear to Siberia in late 1918. Reclassified AG-4 in 1920, she decommissioned in March 1922 and was sold in September of that year. Saturn departed Bremerton on 2 September 1916 for Sitka, Alaska, to operate as a tender and relay ship for radio communication between Alaska and bases on the United States west coast. She cruised extensively in waters of the North Pacific and was placed in full commission on 4 April 1917 upon United States entry into World War I. She called frequently at Seward, Sitka, Tatoosh, Ketchikan, and Dutch Harbor, insuring continuous communications between the continental United States and the Alaska Territory. During November 1918, Saturn was assigned special duty carrying coal and supplies to the United States Expeditionary Force at Vladivostok, Russia, during the Russian Civil War and large-scale Japanese intervention. She departed Vladivostok on 12 January 1919 and proceeded homeward via Olongapo, Philippine Islands; Guam; and Pearl Harbor, arriving on 25 February at Mare Island Navy Yard. Saturn resumed duty as a communications link between Alaska and the continental United States, with occasional additional duty as a radio repair ship. She was classified AG-4 as a miscellaneous auxiliary on 17 July 1920. Honorable Discharge: George Lawrence Benning, 1114953, Chief Yeoman is honorably discharged from the USS Saturn and from the Naval Service of the United States, this 19th day of July, 1919 at Mare Island, California.....if within four months from this date the said Geo. L. Benning shall present this, his Honorable Discharge, at any United States Naval Rendezvous, and is found physically qualified, and shall re enlist for four years, then he shall be entitled to pay during the said four months equal to that to which he would have been entitled had he been employed in actual service...rating last qualified to fill, Chief Yeoman... (back of form) Geo. L. Benning , rate: Lds Yeo, enlisted April 16th, 1917 at Denver, Colo for 4 years; total naval service 2 yrs, 3 months; trade: clerk; citizenship: US; ratings held during enlistment Lds Yeo; App Sea; S.K. 3cl; S.K. 2cl; Chief Storekeeper; Chief Yeoman; Proficiency Rating: 3.90; Sobriety 4.0; Obedience 4.0 ; Average standing for term of enlistment, 3.97; Where born: Boone, Iowa; Date: April 25, 1895 (wrong year); Age 24 yrs, I month; Height 5 ft 6 1/2 inches; Weight, 142 lbs; Eyes, blue; Hair, Med. Brown; Complexion, Ruddy... Personal characteristics, marks, etc. m-in r breast; burk in-l knee; p.s. back r-arm.... War Service Certificate United States Navy: This certifies that George Lawrence Benning (#11149531) Chief Yeoman, performed honorable active service in the United States Navy from April 16, 1917 to November 11, 1918 on board the following ships and stations: US Naval Training Station, San Francisco, CA; Rec. Ship, Mare Island, California; USS Saturn...
  • Professional Career

    During his youth, he worked for the railroad as a clerk. After his discharge from the navy, George worked as a stores manager for the railroad that was being built from Anchorage to Seward, Alaska. When George and wife Mildred left Alaska to return to the states, George worked for a short time for a logging company near Jennings Lodge, Oregon. George found his life-long calling when he became a car salesman, later raising to sales manager, eventually owning his own Chevrolet dealership. Per "Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers, 1850-1950", Compiled and Edited by Ed Ferrell, Heritage Books, Inc. 1994: "George L. Benning George L. Benning, former Alaska, now engaged in the auto business in Seattle, was born in Boone, Iowa, April 25, 1895 (note: year incorrect). In 1900, the family moved to Colorado. After going through school, young Benning entered the employ as an accountant of the Santa Fe Railroad, at Pueblo, Co. where he remained until the US entered the World War. He enlisted in the US Navy and was assigned to the USS Saturn. The Saturn was sent to Alaska to visit all radio stations, carrying supplies and making repairs. This was George's first trip to the northland. The Saturn, upon completing the Alaska trip, went to the Orient and to Vladivostok, Siberia, where a radio station was built, establishing the first direct radio communication between Siberia and the United States. While on the Saturn, Benning made 5 trips to Alaska. Returning to private life after the signing of the armistice, Benning, in 1919, went to Alaska to work in the stores department of the Alaska railroad, at Seward. Later he became auditor of the supply division, with headquarters in Anchorage. In 1922, Benning returned to the states and entered the automobile field at Portland, Oregon, selling Chevrolets. Since then he has been successively used car manager, and sale manager, with the Chevy organization in Portland, Spokane and Seattle, and is now general manager for Seattle Chevrolets." (article also in Alaska Weekly 11/22/1929) Also noted in a similar article..."Benning made many friends (during his five trips to Alaska) as his ship would give a show and dance at each port stopped, with Benning as the official jazz piano player. As a friend of Frank Cotter's in Seward, during the war, Benning had the pleasure of harmonizing with Frank on the piano to his own "Rhymes of a Roughneck".
  • Personal Life & Family

    George was married twice. His first wife, Mildred ‘Duffy’ Wilson, was working for the railroad in Seward, as was George. They had a daughter, Lois Jean Benning Ewen, and divorced when Lois was about 8 years old. George met his second wife through work; a 19 year old Eileen Constance (Tasker) Benning who worked as a stenographer for him when he served as general manager at the Seattle Chevrolet dealership of Captain C.H. Wells in 1927. George was a 32nd degree Mason and was going to become a 33rd degree Mason, but he died before his induction. George was also a Shriner, and President of the Chamber of Commerce in Bremerton, Washington during the year 1945. On January 1, 1945, George received a certificate from the National Geographic Society stating "Through the Board of Trustees at a meeting held in Washington, District of Columbia, in the United States of America has elected Mr. George Benning, 2106 Snyder North, Bremerton, Washington a member of that Society", signed by George W. Hutchinson, Secretary. He was a very talented musician. According to his granddaughter: I'm told that he could play any percussion instrument. I've heard from several people who knew him that his piano playing skills were incredible. But he couldn't read music - he simply could play any song he heard by ear. When Phil Harris' band was playing in the area, he was always asked to sit in with the band. And when the family visited New Orleans (circa 1940), Grandma and George went to Bourbon St at night, and he sat in with bands in all of the nightspots. I sure wish that musical skills were inherited - although my son and I love music, we aren't musicians. Maybe his son will be? :)
  • 08/23
    1946

    Death

    August 23, 1946
    Death date
    He was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and was treated for it for at least a year before he died.
    Cause of death
    Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington United States of America
    Death location
  • 08/dd
    1946

    Gravesite & Burial

    August 1946
    Funeral date
    Forest Lawn Cemetery 5409 Kitsap Way, in Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington 98312, United States
    Burial location
  • Obituary

    The following obituary was published in the Bremerton Sun (Bremerton Washington) on August 1946: Geo. Benning, Auto Dealer, passes at 49: A heroic but futile struggle to regain his health ended this morning at 5:30 o'clock when George L. Benning, head of the Reed-Benning Chevrolet Co., died at the Harrison Memorial hospital. He was 49. Mr. Benning, known as an always jovial gentleman by hundreds of Kitsap County folk, fell seriously ill of an internal ailment several weeks ago. When he failed to respond to treatment here, he was taken by plane to the Mayo clinic at Rochester, MN, a month ago and an operation was performed there. Returning home, Mr. Benning made steady strides toward recovery for a few days but then suffered a relapse and that was followed by his death today. He came here in December 1939, from Portland, to become manager of the then Reed Chevrolet Co. Its founder, MK Reed, had died a few months previously. In 1940, Mr. Benning purchased the controlling interest in the corporation from Mrs. Meeka Reed Vodila, widow of the founder, and the name was changed to the Reed-Benning Chevrolet Co. Mr. Benning was highly regarded by his employees and by business competitors and associates.
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52 Memories, Stories & Photos about George

George Benning
George Benning
Caricature of George Benning while he was serving as the President of the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce
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This is awesome! Do you know anything about this caricature? I know George was active with the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce and local business, so not surprised he was highlighted...just wonder if there is a story surrounding this image? Did it appear in a Biz journal or something?
This caricature was commissioned by a member of the Chamber of Commerce when George was voted president...he presided for a year..it was in the scrapbook that the Chamber made for him after his tenure, along with all the newspaper articles about the war fund drives, etc. I'd actually love to know who drew it, they did a great job-it looks like George!
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Benning Family
Benning Family
George Benning and his mother, Immogene Nelson Millard Benning, visiting George's sister Lois Los Kamp and niece, Marian Los Kamp. On a ferry boat ride in San Francisco Bay. Lois on left, George in back, Marian in front, Immogene on the right.
Date & Place: at City Ferryboat in San Francisco, California USA
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Benning Family Reunion 1925
Benning Family Reunion 1925
A photo of Benning siblings and spouses...
People in photo include: Paul Los Kamp and Lois Los Kamp
Date & Place: in USA
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I'm seeing that shorter girl alot in the pictures??
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Yes. It's our family...and we post photos of our family.
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George  Lawrence Benning
George Lawrence Benning
Studio Portrait of George Benning at about age 23. Taken in Spokane, WA.
Date & Place: in Spokane, Washington USA
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George Benning
George Benning
Article in Spokane Newspaper, April 14, 1926:
George Benning, New Chevrolet Sales Manager
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George Benning
George Benning
Baptism certificate for George Benning
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George Benning
George Benning
Business card fir George Benning at Wentworth and Irwin, Inc. car dealership in Portland, Oregon
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George Benning
George Benning
Article from Bremerton, Wa newspaper announcing George Benning as new president of the Chamber of Commerce
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George Benning, 1921, Anchorage-Seward Railroad
George Benning, 1921, Anchorage-Seward Railroad
George Benning in a 1921 photo of the office gang for the Anchorage-Seward Railroad. George Benning (purchasing clerk), standing, far right. The names of the others are unknown.
Date & Place: in Seward, Alaska USA
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Benning Family, Colorado
Benning Family, Colorado
A photo of the Benning Family in 1933, Pueblo Colorado: Walter, Lloyd, George & Mabel Benning, children of William Benning & Immogene Millard. Photo includes several spouses & children.
People in photo include: Marie (Benning) Turner, Lucile Benning, Mrs. Wilson, and Grace (Broome) Benning
Date & Place: in Pueblo,, Colorado United States of America
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Would the lady be Elsie Wilson ?
Not sure - this is my Mom's Dad's family (he's the George Lawrence Benning in the photo). He was the youngest of 12 and although some live in Southern CA now, they're really spread out all over the place and I don't know many of them by now. Part of his ancestors came over on the Mayflower, some came over 20 years before, and some ancestors were German immigrants in the 1840s. A lot of people to keep track of!
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George Benning's Family Tree & Friends

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Friendships

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Gale Greenough
Gale Joseph Greenough of Everson, Washington United States was born on April 22, 1930 in Bellingham to Thelma (Ferguson) Greenough and Ralph Greenough. Gale Greenough died at age 33 years old on July 25, 1963 in Everett, and was buried on July 29, 1963 at Cypress Lawn Cemetery 1615 SE Everett Mall Way, in Everett, Snohomish County.
Friends of George Friends can be as close as family. Add George's family friends, and his friends from childhood through adulthood.
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