Memorial services for Charles (CB) Benson, age 74, of Aurelia, will be Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Aurelia Community Center. All are invited to a short service from 3:00-3:15 with the family staying to share memories afterwards until 6:00 pm. Wear a baseball cap and/or your favorite baseball team’s shirt or jersey. The Redig Funeral Home in Aurelia is overseeing the arrangements.
CB took his last at bat on earth on October 22, 2019. A die-hard baseball aficionado and Yankees fan, he was born a St. Patty’s day baby in 1945. (The Yankees went 81-71 in the ‘45 season, finishing 4th in the American League.) C.B. was born in Aurelia to Clifford and Frances (Booth) Benson. He graduated from Aurelia High School in 1963. (The Yankees went 104-57 in the ‘63 season, finishing 1st in the American League.) While 1972 was not a great year for Yankee baseball, it was for C.B. when he married Jeanette (“Moosie”) Peck on July 14. C.B. and Moosie had two kids, Janis (J.J.) and Justin. As fate would have it, J.J. was born on Mickey Mantle’s birthday (only the greatest Yankee ever) and Justin on Tommy Henrich’s (who won five World Series with the Yankees and was a league leading hitter).
Besides baseball, C.B. loved gardening, sweepstakes/games of chance, crossword puzzles, the Iowa Hawkeyes, nature walks and a relaxing night by an outdoor fire. He enjoyed making jokes and had a knack for giving people nicknames.
Survivors include his wife, Moosie of Aurelia, his children J.J. (Steve) Winterhof of Des Moines/Omaha and Justin (Alison) Benson of Sioux City, his grandkids Payton, Maxwell and Hayden Winterhof of Omaha and Luke and Sophie Benson of Sioux City, his brothers and their wives Ed (Jeanine) Benson of Aurelia and Jimmie Ray (Shelli) Benson of Greene, IA, his parents-in-law Lester and Mary Peck of Nampa, ID, his sisters-in-law Joanne (Clyde) Sorensen of Alton, IA, Mary Beth (Greg) Salo of Glenoma, WA, and Dianne Perkins of Nampa, ID, his brother-in law Don (Dawn) Peck of Nampa, ID and many special nieces, nephews and family members. He was proceeded in death by his parents, brother Larry (late husband of Mavis Yunge of Aurelia, IA), nephew Mark Benson and sister-in-law Theresa Foote.