Onset — Timothy Jon Benson, 74, passed away Sunday January 14, 2024 after years of battling Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Tim was a kindhearted, gentle man with a ready smile and a great sense of humor who was taken too soon and will be dearly missed. He was the loving husband of Lori (Chandler) Benson for 35 years. 

Tim received his Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School in 1975 and went on to serve churches in VT, NH, CT and MA. He was a man of deep faith with an easy-going style of church leadership who touched the lives of everyone in his congregations. A music lover and talented musician, Tim loved strumming his guitar and banjo and raising his voice in song at Sunday services. A signature of his church services was "children's time" when he would sit with all the children of the congregation for an intimate conversation along with his stuffed Koala, Ted. Through Children's Time, Tim showed his remarkable ability to connect and lead with people of all ages and backgrounds. 

After retiring to Onset, he was a member of the Onset Blues Festival Committee and volunteered at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay. He was also a member and a Deacon of the First Congregational Church of Wareham.

Tim was an avid hiker and had a particular fondness for the presidential range in New Hampshire's White Mountains. He introduced his sons to hiking, backpacking, and camping at a young age and helped instill in them a lifelong passion and reverence for the great outdoors. He hiked to the summits of the Presidentials as well as Mt. Katahdin in Maine. He was particularly proud of climbing to the 14,259 foot summit of Longs Peak in Colorado with his sons Josh and Jeremy and hiking with mountain goats in Yellowstone Park with Josh, Jeremy and Jordan. 

He also enjoyed eating out with friends and family, Charlie’s pizza, fried scallops, biking and walking on the canal, Mexican vacations and restful weeks on Star Island, NH, his spirit’s home.

In addition to his wife, Tim leaves his 3 beloved sons, Joshua (Jennifer Dickson), of New York, Jeremy (Heather), of California and Jordan of Boston and several nieces and nephews. He was a proud “Pop-Pop” to his 2 cherished granddaughters, Caroline and Eleanor Dickson Benson of New York. Tim was predeceased by his brother Gary and his nephews, Christopher and Jon Benson.

A celebration of his life will be held at 2:00 on Saturday, February 10 at the First Congregational Church of Wareham, followed by a reception in Rowland Thatcher Hall. 

Tim’s family wishes to sincerely thank the nurses who cared for Tim with love and respect at Royal Cape Cod Healthcare as well as Beacon Hospice for their dedicated, knowledgeable, and loving hospice care. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Tim’s memory may be made to Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation, PO Box 370, Hyannis, MA 02601 (checks payable to CCHS Dementia & Alzheimer’s Support); https://support.givetocapecodhealth.org/donate or to the First Congregational Church of Wareham, 11 Gibbs Ave., Wareham, MA 02571.

To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.warehamvillagefuneralhome.com