John A Benjamin ’60
John A Benjamin ’60 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, died on November 3, 2019, at the University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. He was born on July 12, 1938, in Glencoe, Illinois, to Reuben and Meta Benjamin. He graduated from New Trier Township High School and entered Dartmouth, where he majored in mathematics and physics. He was a member and house manager of Phi Tau, spent four years in the Dartmouth Outing Club, rowed on the freshman and varsity lightweight crews for four years, and graduated in 1960. On December 21, 1963, he married Elizabeth Ellen Bolstad and they had sons Robert and Jeffrey. As a young man John was an avid rower, canoeist, and hiker. He canoed the length of the Connecticut River and climbed Mount Washington and Mount Moosilauke, along with other expeditions in the White Mountains and the Appalachians. As a father and Boy Scout leader, he was a patient and kind teacher and guide in the woods. After receiving his master of science degree in physics at the University of Minnesota in 1965, he embarked upon a long and active career in nuclear physics, working at Yale University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, until his retirement in 2010. He was very personable and enjoyed being with other people and out in the world. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, two sons, and sister Elizabeth, each of whom find consolation knowing that they will see him again.
