Keith Benson

After graduating from Morgan Park High School, he served in the Air Force, relocating to Roswell, New Mexico. His sweetheart, Geraldine Hedberg traveled by train to marry Keith in Wichita Falls, Texas, then joined him in Roswell. Keith was stationed in Guam during the Korean War, retiring from the Air Force in 1955. The Bensons returned to Duluth, residing in Morgan Park, where Keith worked for US Steel as a roll turner. When the steel plant closed, Keith and Gerri moved to Virginia, Minnesota. He worked as a millwright at Minntac. After retiring, Keith continued to work as an insurance salesman for Combined Insurance, and went on to have a stellar sales career. He loved to meet people, and shoot the breeze, selling a policy or two along the way.

Keith and Gerri celebrated 62 years of marriage, and loved and raised four children, Peggy (John) Scott, Robert (Linda) Benson, Pam (Ronn) Tomassoni, and Barbie (Dan) Fedorowski.

Keith was the life of the party. He always had a smile on his face, sang along to the tunes on the radio, and could make anyone roar with laughter, as he often did. An avid bird hunter, one could find him in Minnesota and the Dakotas, getting a few birds, sharing a few beverages, and enjoying making memories with his hunting partners, leaving them all with many stories to be told.

Besides gallivanting around town with Gerri to visit friends, Keith loved being with his family. Whether he was playing a horse and crawling around the living room, teaching them to skip, or sitting down to a game of cribbage, he entertained all of his grandchildren and made everything fun.

Keith is survived by his brother, Wayne Benson; sisters-in-law, Donna Mae Benson and Janice Nelson; three of his children; eleven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

He will join Gerri; his parents; brothers, Marshall and Ronnie; and daughter, Barbie and son-in-law, Jeff Ramirez as an angel.

One of life’s greatest characters will truly be missed, but he will be bringing laughter to the heavens.

Visitation: 10:00 a.m. until the 11:00 a.m. Memorial Service Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at United Protestant Church, 830 88th Avenue West, Duluth. Inurnment will be in Oneota Cemetery at a later date. Please leave a memory or words of support for the family at www.bellbrothersfuneralhome.com