Norman Benton
Norman Alexander Benton, 80, of Kingman died Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. He was born Sept. 24, 1932, to Lawrence and Jessie Benton in Pasadena, Calif. He was one of 11 children.
Norm attended elementary school, junior high and high school in the Pasadena area. In 1949, two weeks before he turned 17, he joined the National Guard. As the Korean Conflict began, he spent 10 months in Japan training with the D 'dog' support company as an 81mm mortar gunner. He spent three and a half years in the Army in Korea. Norm returned home on June 21, 1952. He received a Bronze Star for his service.
After returning to California, Norm spent the next 20 years living in Southern California raising his family and working in various industries. He built fuel air tanks for jets, worked for UPS, was a mechanic and drove long-haul trucks. One job hat he particularly enjoyed was driving for Greyhound. He had many great memories and stories of the people he met and places he visited. He loved sharing these stories throughout later years.
In 1975, Norm moved his family to Bullhead City and in 1978 to Kingman after gaining employment with Roadway Express. He drove for Roadway until his retirement in 1996. Norm cherished the friendships he made with fellow drivers. He was also very proud of his clean driving record. Norm then worked part-time for ARC and worked in the maintenance department at the police department until he completely retired in 2003.
Through the years, Norm enjoyed many hobbies. He was always busy and thrived on that.
He loved hunting with family and friends, sand drag racing, golfing, bowling and playing cards with his kids. In the last 10 years, Norm and Dorothy loved going to car shows with their T Bucket. They spent most of their time traveling across country visiting new places, meeting new friends and making memories.
He was a member of The National T Bucket Association and looked forward every year to the annual meetings. Norm became infamous for his margaritas and was inducted into the National T Bucket Hall of Fame because of them.
Norm was a caring, generous man. He was a loyal friend and loved everyone. He was a "talker" and truly never met a stranger. Spending time with family and friends was his favorite thing to do. Norm touched so many people's lives while he was here. He will be greatly missed by all that knew him.
Norm is survived by his love and best friend, Dorothy Snyder of Kingman; his constant companion and shadow, dog Maggie; son, Ken and Denise Benton of Kingman; daughter, Karen Nugent and fiancé Dan Miller of Fullerton, Calif.; daughter, Paula Auld of Kingman; son, Scott and Kim Pettigrew of Kingman; daughter, Samantha and Eric Lillis of Kingman; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Norm was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at Kingman Academy of Learning Primary School, 3400 N. Burbank St., Kingman. A celebration of life will immediately follow.
