Nathan Hill Benton III

Nathan was born on February 5, 1955, to Nathan Hill Benton, Jr, and Vernis Aline Scuggins Benton in Lawrence, Kansas. He grew up at the Chilocco Indian School in Newkirk, OK, where his parents were on staff. During his high school years, he set records in track and field that went unbroken for many years. He graduated from Newkirk High School in 1973. He would later go on to study at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, and Eastfield Junior College in Mesquite, TX. 

Nathan married the love of his life, Teresa Allen, on his birthday on February 5, 1976. He joked that he married her on his birthday so that he'd never forget his wedding anniversary. She was the best birthday present he ever received, and they were married for 48 years. The Lord blessed their marriage with three children and 7 grandchildren. Nathan truly loved being a husband, a father and grandfather. It was most important to him and Teresa that their children and grandchildren know Jesus. 

Nathan recognized that he was a sinner at the tender age of 5, and on his knees, beside his daddy, in an old storefront building where his family attended church, he put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He never wavered from this commitment, and continued to serve the Lord all his life. Nothing was more important to Nathan than following Christ. He wasn't perfect, but he was forgiven, and he did his very best to use his life to bring glory to God, and to point others to Him. 

Nathan and Teresa answered God's calling to full time ministry and moved to Texas in 1984, where they served in churches and schools until Nathan retired in 2020 due to health complications. He then became a greeter at Wal Mart. Nathan served as teacher and coach at Brook Hollow Christian Academy and Temple Christian School, but the majority of his years were spent at Balch Springs Christian Academy in Balch Springs, TX, where he served as principal, teacher, Athletic director, and coach. Coaching was his passion,  and he poured into kids, and worked tirelessly to instill the values of good sportsmanship and character into the hearts and lives of his student athletes through basketball, volleyball, track, tennis and football, even taking one football team to the state championship. He will be fondly remembered by hundreds of students as "Coach." 

Nathan was active in his church, faithfully serving God in many capacities over the years. He served as assistant pastor, music director, Sunday School teacher, children's church pastor, bus director and AWANA director. Much of his ministry, though, was done behind the scenes. Many times, while on bus visitation, he would do things such as fix broken bikes for kids. If there was an opportunity to serve, Nathan was there. He truly had a heart for people, and a heart for God. 

Nathan had a sense of humor that continued until the very day he went to Heaven. He kept those around him laughing, and he raised his children with the same sense of humor. He had a habit of giving the alias "Joe" when waiting for a fast food order or a reservation at a restaurant.  When the attendant would call for "Joe," Nathan was amused when the family would forget his alias, and the confused attendant thought the family didn't know their own name!  You just never knew the next way Nathan would make you laugh. His family will dearly miss his sense of humor, but in true Benton fashion, they will continue that humor on to future generations, just as Nathan would have wanted it. 

Nathan loved music. He had a beautiful voice, and he spent years singing alongside his wife, Teresa, as their voices blended in praise to God. He played the bass guitar, acoustic guitar and mandolin. 

Nathan's parents and siblings fondly called him "Newtie," but no one else could have gotten away with that. Nathan hated early mornings, was deathly afraid of heights and dearly loved annoying his grandchildren. He pretended to get irritated when his grand daughters would steal his sweaters when they raided his closet. He gave nicknames to everyone around him, some even sticking for life. He was truly one of a kind, and it is not possible to sum up a life so well lived in just a few paragraphs. 

There were several mottos that Nathan was known to quote. He'd say things like, "My way or the highway," or "Cut the juice when not in use," or "Ride the bus, leave the driving to us, when he didn't want his kids to know where they were going.   Nathan's favorite motto, though, was, "We don't lose in this family." As he lay dying in the ICU, his son-in-law reminded him that he always said, "We don't lose in this family." Nathan smiled and said, "We don't, and I'll be the first one going to Heaven!" Like the Apostle Paul in the Bible, Nathan could say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." And he did. 

Nathan is survived by his wife, Teresa, daughter Annette Benton-Frazier and her husband Jason and their children Justine, Alex, Jordyn and Caliann, daughter Alyssa Benton-Grubbe and her husband Jeff and their children Lawrence, Jayla and Chookie, son Jeffery Benton, mother Aline Benton, siblings Marilyn WalkingSky and husband Woolsey, Phillip Benton and wife Gwen, John Benton and wife Margaret, Nancy Smith and husband John, as well as a host of nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father, Nathan Hill Benton, Jr.