W. Lowell Benson Jr. , 62, a Utah businessman and church and civic leader, died Friday, May 5, 2000, of a heart attack.
Senior vice president of finance at O.C. Tanner Co., Mr. Benson died at St. Mark's Hospital, where he was taken after playing an early morning basketball game with friends.At the jewelry company he was also in charge of the acquisition of precious metals, diamonds and real estate. He had been with the firm almost 30 years. Before joining O.C. Tanner Co., he was vice president of sales for the Institute of Cultural Education in Cincinnati and district sales manager for Proctor & Gamble Co.
The recipient of a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in business administration from Brigham Young University, Mr. Benson was national chairman of the Steering Committee for the Marriott School of Management and a member of the National Advisory Council for the school, which had honored him as a distinguished graduate.
He was selected last year by the Father's Day Council-Utah and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation-Utah Chapter as one of four Utah Fathers of the Year. He was a member of the Utah Opera Board and the Utah Symphony Board. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had served in four bishoprics, as bishop of the Mount Olympus 14th Ward, on four high councils, a councilor for nine years in the Mount Olympus North Stake presidency and was president of that same stake at the time of his death.
Funeral services will be at noon Wednesday in the Mount Olympus North Stake, 4176 S. 3930 East. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. Wednesday at the church. Burial will be in Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.