John D. Benedict, W8REN SK September 29, 2017 Birth Date: Dec 24 1922 10-10 Number: 46819 Obituary for John David "Dave" Benedict December 24, 1922 - September 29, 2017 Holland, Michigan | Age 94 http://hosting-23120.tributes.com/o...0.1160726315.1506993795-1972739444.1485299908 John David Benedict, "Dave", of Holland MI, died Sept. 29, 2017. He was born on Christmas Eve, 1922 in Indianapolis, IN to Howard and Ruth Benedict. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Cathy; his children, Steven, Ruth (Jonas Taub), Paul (Susan) and Alan; grandchildren, Emily and Aaron Taub, Elizabeth and Rebecca Benedict. He served in WWII from 1942 – 1946 with radio communication assignments in the Air Force and 283rd Engineer Combat Battalion, serving one and a half years in Europe. In 1949 Dave graduated with a B.S. in Management Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY. While there he sang in a semi-professional quartet, The Four Horsemen, who performed on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Career highlights included owning his own employment agency, consulting, and Human Resource Management at both General Electric and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Dave served as President of the Industrial Relations Association of Detroit and HASP in Holland. He played violin with the Holland Symphony Orchestra and had been on its board. He also played in the Macatawa Strings violin quartet. Dave was an active Amateur Radio (HAM) operator for over 70 years holding the "extra class" FCC license W8REN since 1937. He belonged to the Audubon Club and shared many years of bird watching and travel with his wife, Cathy. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Holland and had been a Deacon and Elder at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Troy, MI. He thoroughly enjoyed retirement in Holland and has been active at Freedom Village since 1994. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 11, 2017 in the auditorium at Freedom Village, 145 Columbia Ave, Holland. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Freedom Village Scholarship fund.
