Dr. Donald Robert Benton passed away at his home on Friday, May 5., 2023 at the age of 63.
Don, to his family and friends, was born on Aug. 7, 1959, in San Diego, Calif., to Cobi and James Benton. He grew up in Escondido, Calif. In 1981, he obtained his bachelor’s degree from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. In 1985, he obtained the Ph.D. in physics at the University of Maryland, where he met his wife, Mirjam Cvetic. Don completed his post-doctoral research in experimental nuclear physics at the Stanford Linear Accelerator and Princeton University, before settling in as a research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, where Mirjam became a professor of physics. They bought a house in Yardley, Pa., where they raised their three children, Adrian, Peter and Anna. In 2006, they moved to their current home in Lower Merion Township. Don would go on to accept a position at the Mitre Corporation as a research scientist, until his passing. In 2021 Don celebrated the birth of his grandson, Alexander.
A quiet and gentle man, Don was unfailingly kind and polite to everyone he met. He was the strong center of his family and a true intellectual. Despite his reserved nature, Don was deceptively funny and quick-witted. Don was an avid reader and, along with his wife, a classical music and opera lover. They enjoyed visiting the great opera houses of the world on their many adventures. Don was a world traveler, and with his recent trip to Antarctica he has completed his visit to every continent, just before his sudden devastating illness.
Above all else, Don was a devoted and consummate family man. He was the heart and soul of his wife and children and will be deeply missed. He is the beloved husband of Mirjam Cvetic and devoted father of Adrian, Peter and Anna; also survived by his grandson, Alexander; mother, Cobi; and brothers, Robert and David.
Private funeral services were held at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pa., on Wednesday, May 10, followed by a private reception at the family home.
In lieu of gifts or flowers, the family would request a donation to the Red Cross, for which Donald frequently gave blood and cared for greatly.
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