John Benson
Brother Stavros
John Benson and Jeanette Warner first came to
New Skete from reading In the Spirit of
Happiness in 2000. After their first visit with the Companions at
Emmaus House, they started going to St. Nicholas Parish (OCA) soon afterward, where
they were pleased to learn of Fr. George Gray's connection with New Skete. Fr.
George was ordained in our Transfiguration church here at New
John and Jeanette were core members of
the New Skete Synaxis at St. Nicholas. They considered becoming Companions in
residence at New Skete, and although moving from the Pacific Northwest did not
prove realistic, they did make frequent visits and became especially close to
Sr. Melanie and Br. Stephen, the last resident members of Emmaus House. John
had a professional landscape business in Portland and helped Sr. Melanie with
the gardens at Emmaus House. The results were stunning. As one might
expect for a man of that profession, John loved the outdoors and his visits
often afforded the chance to hike in the Green Mountains or the Adirondacks, which
bookend Cambridge. It was my great pleasure to develop a close friendship with
him on those occasions. Hiking afforded us time to discuss theology, liturgy,
books, photography, and poetry, and to groan at John’s cleverly outrageous and
relentless puns.
On my first visit to
Portland, John took me snowshoeing on Mt. Hood. It was February, and I had
never experienced something so gigantic as that 11,000-foot volcano, a short
drive from the city. When we were done we had a great lunch at a roadhouse
redolent with northwestern ambience. Then he drove around the mountain
counterclockwise to show me the Columbia River Gorge and the Multnomah Falls (a
color poster now adorns my armoire door).
I led a special retreat
for the Synaxis at Jeanette’s oceanside cabin on Cape Meares. It was my first
sight of the Pacific. The dramatic coastline and the mountains got me
thoroughly hooked, enthralled; and in the decade since I have managed a few
more visits to the region, always including some time with John and Jeanette.
This February was my
first opportunity after hearing about John’s surgery to remove a brain tumor to
see how he was doing. On an unbelievably clear and sunny day, John and Jeanette
took me for lunch at “Salty’s” on the Columbia, then on a scenic drive upriver
with Mt. Hood blanketed in luminous snow in afternoon golden light ahead of us
to the East.
We then headed back to
their home off Hawthorne Avenue, and given how sunny it was, we stopped for a
walk around the pond in Laurelhurst Park. I felt a shadow of melancholy, for
while John’s sense of humor
was engaged, when I asked him the name of some trees he said he had lost all
his horticulture vocabulary. “Gees, I used to know all these names, but now
it’s just gone.”
On the phone and in
person he was at ease talking about his condition, without bitterness or anger;
rather he seemed at peace about the inevitable. This manifested his deep trust
in God and firm attachment to Christ. John’s perception was that suffering
crashes the gates of most people’s lives, and if we are wise, we let God in through
those gates.
It was difficult to say
goodbye. The three of us were aware that it most likely was a last farewell.
Thank you, John, for
your joie de vivre, for your courage
and faith, for your sense of fun. Your life has touched me deeply and leaves me
humbled and inspired. You have had the last laugh.
Memory eternal! Stavros
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| John Benson (left) with Brother Stavros. Mount Hood is in the background. |
