Final Salute

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Throughout his life, Don’s love for his savior Jesus was at the heart of who he was and everything he did. The verse above was a constant source of peace and encouragement to him as he lived his life sold out to the Lord. From his vocation, to AWANA, to mission trips to Central America, God was in charge of, and empowering, his life.

Don was born in South Chicago to Swedish parents John and Ruth Benson. Following high school, while the Korean War raged, he enlisted in the Navy. He met wife-to-be Geneva in San Francisco at a Youth for Christ meeting, just weeks before shipping out to the Philippines. 6 months later he proposed via letter, and she soon joined him there to begin their wonderful 59 years of marriage.

The Navy used Don as a member of a U.S. Navy Construction Battalion—he was a “Seabee”—in the Philippines and Guam. The mason skills he learned as a Seabee gave him steady employment when he rejoined civilian life and returned to his new home of CA. He was always proud he helped build the stonework in front of Hume Lake Christian Camp’s administrative offices as he supported his young family.

At this point Don was led to a new career path: law enforcement. He knew more education would be essential, so he earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Fresno State. After gaining some experience with the Kingsburg Police Dept, he moved to the Berkeley Police Dept (“…just before it got crazy”). He next joined the Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence as a special agent (today he would be an “NCIS” agent), and was moved to Guam for two years. On return in 1965, he was posted to the brand-new Lemoore Naval Air Station; earned his Masters Degree in Criminology from Fresno State; and moved into academia as the head of the Criminology Dept at West Hills College. He left academia on his election as Sheriff of Kings County, serving from 1979 to 1983. Many jobs followed: political office manager; helping rebuild Coalinga after a major earthquake; and travelling around the country performing background investigations.

Geneva passed away in 2012, but God graciously blessed Don with a new wife, Shirley, in 2014. These last 8 years with Shirley were a wonderful time of love, companionship, travel, and service. And Shirley’s extended family brought even more children into Don’s life, a source of great joy.

Don is survived by wife Shirley, sons Steve (Carol) and John (Janet), daughter Kathy (Don), son-in-the-Lord Doug Nowak (Barbara), and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00AM, Monday, June 27th, at South Valley Community Church, 1050 W Bush St, Lemoore, CA 93245. In lieu of flowers, you may honor Don with a gift to the Crossroads Pregnancy Center, 206 W Lacey Blvd, Hanford, CA 93230.