Bruce Benner, Jr. (b. April 26, 1927; d January 3, 2015) served as a Republican on the Ann Arbor City Council representing Ward 4 from April 1972 to April 1974.  

Obituary

Benner, Bruce 4/26/1927 - 1/3/2015 Minnesota Bruce Benner, age 87 passed away peacefully on January 3, 2015. Bruce was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bruce Benner Sr. and Florence Granert Benner. He lived in Illinois, California and Ohio before moving to Ann Arbor in 1969. He moved to Minnesota in 2014 to be near his children and grandchildren. Bruce married Margery Ann Wheat in 1954. She passed away in 1992. Survivors include one son, Douglas W. Benner (Jill) and their children Betsy and Mike, one daughter, Dr. Joan L. Benner and her children Ann and Emma. He is also survived by his wife Hely Merle-Benner who he married on February 28, 1998. Also surviving are nieces, nephews, cousins, stepchildren and other relatives. His sister, Florence B. Hunsicker (Oscar) preceded in death. Bruce was a veteran of the U.S. Navy. After graduation from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Sigma, he worked for General Electric in New York and Continental Illinois Bank in Chicago as vice president. He then joined First of America Bank in Ann Arbor, where he retired as chairman in 1992. He was also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and the Advanced Management College at Stanford University. Bruce was Scoutmaster and chairman of capital campaign in the Boy Scouts; trustee of NSF International; member of the University of Michigan Capital Campaign Committee; a founder and president of the Ann Arbor Public School Foundation. He was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council; director of the Chamber of Commerce, president of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation; chairman of the Ann Arbor Parks Commission; director of the Michigan Research Corp. and active in many other community activities. Bruce Benner loved his family and enjoyed hunting with his dogs, dreaming up canoeing, camping and skiing adventures with his family, socializing at the family cabin, and in later years travelling the world with his wife. Other passions included fly fishing, playing cards, planting trees, cheering for the University of Michigan football team and golfing. He was an avid reader, and talented watercolor artist and woodworker as well. He was a kind and honest man, who held strong values of family, civic duty and hard work. He was always busy with many projects, but never forgot to relax and enjoy his friends and family and a beautiful sunset. A memorial service was held for Bruce in Minnesota. Memorial donations may be made to the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, 301 N Main, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or to the Ann Arbor Boy Scouts of America, Southern Shores FSC, 3914 Bestech Dr., Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

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