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Dear Classmates:

Even though the recent passing of both Steve Benko and Jim St. Clair were sad events, there is still much to celebrate.  We would like to share a couple of links that will give more insight into the lives of these admirable members of the New Canaan family.

First, here is a link to the funeral service for Steve. The eulogies are some of the best we have ever heard.

https://newcanaanite.com/the-best-dad-any-kid-could-ever-ask-for-family-friends-gather-to-remember-steve-benko-5565971

And second, here is a note from Sandy Harlow, who was in the Class of 67 about recorded talks given by Jim. You can actually hear Jim's voice again.

If you would like to hear the wonderful voice of Jim St. Clair again after 50 years, you are in for a treat. Jim made 17 audio recordings that were produced by Storytellers of Canada in 2008 as a 3 CD set titled “Stories of Cape Breton”.  A copy of the liner notes from the CD set is attached to this message.

Storytellers of Canada owns the copyrights to the recordings, but they gave me permission to share the individual stories in the MP3 format via the following link:

https://storysave.bandcamp.com/album/stories-of-cape-breton

The stories cover a wide variety of subjects, and range from humorous (“A Nice Quiet Train”) to dark (“The MacKinnon Forerunner”).  Some of my other favorites include “A Child Named Mary”, “Memories of Douce Belhache”, “A Pentacostal Experience”, “Kate MacKillop Goes to Boston”, and “J.D. Cameron Takes Up Reading”.  I listened to just one story per day in order to savor each one !

The Storytellers of Canada team who produced the 3 CD set was delighted to learn about and see the photos of the Jim St. Clair memorial tree and bench that have been placed at the Bristow Bird Sanctuary in New Canaan thanks to your generous donations.

Please let me know if you have any problem getting access to the recordings, or would like any additional info. 

Sandy Harlow

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Dear Classmates:

We have received notice that the New Canaan High School Scholarship Foundation has created the Steve Benko Endowed Scholarship from the donation by an anonymous donor. The announcement noted that Steve was a lifelong resident of New Canaan. He was devoted to helping organiziations like the Scholarship Foundation and helped them hold community events that enriched and enlived the town. If you are so inclined, here is the link that will allow you to donate to this worthy cause.

https://www.nchs-sf.org/steve-benko-endowed-scholarship

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Dear Classmates:

We have sad news to relate to the Class of '68. Our classmate and much loved friend Steve Benko passed away on February 12th after a short illness. Steve stayed in New Canaan, after most of us left. He was the Fire Chief for several years and was the Recreation Director for the Town of New Canaan for 50 years! Steve will greatly missed by New Canaan and all the residents

To give everyone some insights into Steve's life and character, following is letter from Leo Karl, of Karl Chevrolet, to the New Canaan Rotary members. He shared this message with Ann Wilson. More details follow.

Rotarians,

It is with an immense amount of sadness that I share new of Steve Benko’s passing last night.

As most of you know, Steve was a local institution, having served our town as Recreation Director for decades and having served as an employee of our town for 4 months shy of 50 years.  He was a rock of physical strength and the decline of his health was the most aggressive I have ever seen.

While Steve was never a Rotarian, he lived the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’ perhaps better than any human being I have personally known.  When it came to anything happening in New Canaan, he was omnipresent. In direct support of our club, Steve welcomed our weekly meetings to Waveny House and always made us feel welcome. He was the main person responsible for allowing our Lobsterfest to operate from the Town Pool Pavilion and he quietly made significant contributions to the success of our event the past 2 years.

Having been with Steve on Christmas Eve setting up for the Christmas Eve Caroling on God’s Acre, all was well. But he wasn’t feeling well over the holidays and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. From early January on, he we engaged in a battle that would not relinquish and last night he passed.  For me, this is a real gut punch. We don’t get to write the script of our lives; and we never know when, where, or how was are going to leave this earth. But we all are.

So, Carpe Diem. Go home and hug your loved ones. Savor each moment. Take time to smell the roses. Tell those you care about that you love them. Take care of yourself, get your annual physical, and listen to your body. For we truly never know.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Steve’s wife Sue, and their children, Lindsay, Stephanie, and Peter.

I will share details of any services with you once they are know.

In gratitude for having known Steve for so many years,

Leo