We’ll miss Jack Benson, one of the good guys

Jack Benson Sr.

Thursday night, I got word that an old friend had passed away, at the age of 85.  Jack Benson, Sr. was one of those guys who’s been around forever, and seemed invincible.  He had survived a few battles with skin cancer, and until recently appeared to be in good health.  But a recent illness was too much for him to overcome, and we have lost a local treasure.

I first met him during my early days in broadcasting.  He had moved up in the city school ranks, where he had started as a teacher before becoming a principal at the age of 25.  Yes, that’s not a misprint.  He was 25.  Two of the city’s largest schools, East Lake Elementary and East Side Junior High were under his leadership for seventeen years.

1963-64 photo, while Jack Benson was principal of East Side Jr. High

When he moved up to assistant superintendent, he was frequently the face of the city schools, working under superintendents who preferred to stay out of the spotlight.  Jack didn’t mind being interviewed, and was often on camera responding to good news and bad.  He never ducked an interview request, and for that I was extremely grateful.

By 1985, he was ready to retire from the city schools, and my wife Cindy played a small role in his future.  Working then as a loaned executive in the United Way campaign, she called on the city schools central office, and she and Jack became good friends.  She told him about her passion for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga, and how much she enjoyed her time with her “little sister.”  The agency had an opening for its executive director position, and Jack said he might be interested in a career change.  Knowing his love for children, Cindy told him he would be a perfect fit and encouraged him to go for it.  For the next fifteen years he headed up Big Brothers Big Sisters, and loved every minute of it.  Whenever I saw Jack, before we got around to business, he asked about Cindy, and told me to thank her for getting him involved in that program.

In 2001, at the age of 71, he entered the third phase of his remarkable life.  He ran for City Council in District 4, representing the East Brainerd area.  He served three four-year terms before leaving office in 2013.  The City Council job is basically part-time, but Jack never treated it that way.  He maintained an office at City Hall, and that’s where he could usually be found.  He didn’t request travel expenses, rarely missed a meeting, returned every phone call, and never shied away from controversy.  Just as he had done during his school administration days, he was always available for an interview, even when he was defending an unpopular position on an issue like rezoning.  Believe me, not all officeholders are that accommodating.

A few years ago, I saw a side of Jack I had never seen before.  I was invited to attend an East Side reunion downtown.  Hundreds of people were there, many in their 60s and 70s, and Jack was the main attraction.  He was their principal back in the 1950s and 1960s, and I believe he remembered every single one of those “kids.”  Former mayor Ron Littlefield told me Thursday night that he would often go to lunch with Jack, and rarely a minute would go by without one of Jack’s former students stopping by to say hello.  He sure was proud of that.

Jack’s legacy lives on, through all those kids who grew up to become productive citizens, including the ones he mentored through Big Brothers Big Sisters.  It also lives on through his family, the children and grandchildren he loved so much.  Ron Littlefield reminded me last night about how much I loved Luther Masingill, the radio legend we lost in October.  “You know how you felt about Luther, that he was your mentor, your role model?”  “I sure do,” I replied.  “Well, Jack was my Luther,” Ron said.  “I sure will miss him.”

Jack as principal of H. Clay Evans School in 1957

Here is my WRCB video tribute to Jack, which aired January 16, 2015:

Here is a WRCB video of a story I did on November 22, 2013, featuring Jack talking about how he informed students at East Side Jr. High about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: