Obituary for Joseph Bene
Joseph Bene passed away peacefully following a brief illness on Thursday, June 9th,2022 at Spang Crest Luthercare, Lebanon, PA. He recently moved from Franklin, NJ to Lebanon, Pa to be near his children following the death of his wife, Doris in January.
Joe, the son of Andrew and Irma Bene, was born on May 4, 1929. A lifelong resident of Franklin, He is survived by a daughter, Karen Lynn Haas ( Paul) of Palmyra, PA and a son, Joseph, Jr ( Karen Renee) of Lebanon, PA. He was also the proud Grandpa of grandchildren, Matthew Haas, Emily Haas, Laura (Bene) Cook, Andrew Bene and Great-Grandpa to Owen Cook. Joe is predeceased by his wife of 70 years Doris (Townsend) on January 9, 2022.
Joe had many jobs in Franklin, including Kohler’s Butcher Shop, B.D. Simmons and most notably in the time office of the N.J. Zinc Company. After the Zinc Company, Joe began his career at Plastoid Corp., Hamburg, NJ as a cable extruder and completed his time there as a contract estimator. He then went on to work for the Sussex Bank as a courier until he retired.
His experiences of living and working in a small mining town of immigrants helped Joe become the unofficial “historian” of Franklin and Sussex County. Keeping meticulous binders of newspaper articles on residents, businesses, events both tragic and celebrated, led many people to contact him for information sometimes lost in the records of town histories.
Services for Joe will be at the F. John Ramsey Funeral Home, Franklin, N.J. on Friday June 17, 2022. Viewing will be from 9:00-10:00AM at the funeral home with interment immediately following at the North Annex of the Hardyston Cemetery.
Joe, the son of Andrew and Irma Bene, was born on May 4, 1929. A lifelong resident of Franklin, He is survived by a daughter, Karen Lynn Haas ( Paul) of Palmyra, PA and a son, Joseph, Jr ( Karen Renee) of Lebanon, PA. He was also the proud Grandpa of grandchildren, Matthew Haas, Emily Haas, Laura (Bene) Cook, Andrew Bene and Great-Grandpa to Owen Cook. Joe is predeceased by his wife of 70 years Doris (Townsend) on January 9, 2022.
Joe had many jobs in Franklin, including Kohler’s Butcher Shop, B.D. Simmons and most notably in the time office of the N.J. Zinc Company. After the Zinc Company, Joe began his career at Plastoid Corp., Hamburg, NJ as a cable extruder and completed his time there as a contract estimator. He then went on to work for the Sussex Bank as a courier until he retired.
His experiences of living and working in a small mining town of immigrants helped Joe become the unofficial “historian” of Franklin and Sussex County. Keeping meticulous binders of newspaper articles on residents, businesses, events both tragic and celebrated, led many people to contact him for information sometimes lost in the records of town histories.
Services for Joe will be at the F. John Ramsey Funeral Home, Franklin, N.J. on Friday June 17, 2022. Viewing will be from 9:00-10:00AM at the funeral home with interment immediately following at the North Annex of the Hardyston Cemetery.