Bob Benner passed away Thursday, March 30, 2023. He was 101 years old. He was the husband for 57 years to his high school sweetheart and classmate, Elma Stull, of Sellersville, Pa., until her passing on June 23, 2000.
Born in Perkasie, Pa., on July 12, 1921, he remained a resident of the borough until 2004, four years after his wife passed away, at which time he moved to the Community at Rockhill in Sellersville.
Bob was the youngest son and last surviving child of Darwin and Aquilla (Moyer) Benner. Bob’s dad was the owner of the Colonial Café located at 7th & Arch streets in Perkasie and served the community from 1913 until 1944. In 1945, the basement was remodeled and converted into a coffee shop. Bob’s dad passed away in 1954, and his mother passed in 1963. The Colonial Café building was sold thereafter.
Bob was a 1940 graduate of Sell-Perk High School where he excelled in sports. In 1939, Sell-Perk played their first night football game at Poppy Yoder Field. Bob was captain of the team and participated in the first touchdown under the lights with a 57-yard pass play. He also kicked the first extra point under the lights. In addition to football, Bob excelled in baseball and basketball, accumulating 11 varsity letters during his high school career, captaining the baseball team during his senior year. He also played four years of Junior Legion Baseball. Following graduation, Bob continued playing baseball for the Sell-Perk Redbirds. At the age of 40, Bob took up golf and over time was able to card two aces. In 2000, he was inducted into the Pennridge-Quakertown Sports Hall of Fame. He was an avid Philadelphia Phillies Baseball fan.
After high school, he attended Taylor Business School in Philadelphia and after graduation was hired by the Berwind Corporation, a privately-owned conglomerate with world headquarters located in Center City Philadelphia.
In 1942, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard where he served 18 months, returning to his former employer following his discharge. He rode what is now the R-5 SEPTA line first from Perkasie and then from Lansdale to Philadelphia for a total of 45 years working for Berwind. Prior to his retirement, his company initiated an annual golf outing in his honor called the “Bob Benner Invitational” held at the Westover Country Club. Bob retired in 1983.
Besides his lifetime love of sports, Bob was also committed to his community and served in numerous capacities starting in the mid-1950’s when he was the Perkasie Fire Company Secretary followed immediately by a ten-year term on the Perkasie Borough Council through most of the 1960’s. He was later treasurer of the Perkasie Breakfast Club, which began many years earlier at his dad’s restaurant establishment. He was a member of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Perkasie, the Hartzell-Crouthamel American Legion Post No. 280 of Perkasie, the Perkasie Fire Company, the Perkasie Owl’s Nest No. 1224 and the Perkasie Breakfast Club. He was also a former treasurer of the former Pennridge Jaycees.
As Perkasie Borough Councilman, he served on the Menlo Park Recreation Board. His 1963 presentation paved the way to updating the Menlo Park facilities. His 1965 presentation to the Perkasie Rotary Club led the way in the relocation of the new Perkasie Fire House at 5th and Arch streets.
On May 4, 2017, Bob received a plaque along with two citations: one from the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the second from the Honorable Brian Fitzpatrick on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives for 75 years of “Dedication, Loyalty and Service” to the Perkasie Fire Company.
Surviving are two sons, Craig Benner and his wife Susan (Gruver), of Souderton, Pa., and their two sons, Sean Benner, of Hereford, Pa., and Kyle Benner and his wife Vanessa, of Schwenksville, Pa.; and Bob’s younger son, Terry Benner and his wife Donna (Press), of Perkasie, Pa.; and four great-grandchildren, Alexis, Treyce, Riley and Brayden.
In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Clyde, Woodrow and Leroy Benner, and two sisters, Margaret “Peggy” Bruzas and Virginia Mann.
Family and friends are invited to attend his funeral services to be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 14, 2023, at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 19 S. Fifth St., Perkasie. Interment will be held privately at the convenience of the family in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Perkasie.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Music Program, 19 S. Fifth St., Perkasie, PA 18944.
Arrangements are by the Suess-Gahman Funeral Home, 606 Arch Street, Perkasie, Pa.
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