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Light a Candle
Steven Howard Benson, D.D.S. (8/8/1942 – 5/30/2020), of Bellaire, Texas, ended his four-year battle with Lymphoma, at home, surrounded by loved ones. Steve lived a full and meaningful life, and knew when his time here was near the end. He was so honored and blessed to personally visit with so many of his friends in the last days of his life. He was not afraid of what the future held for him. He was at peace and ready to return home to his Father.
Steve was born in Moline, Illinois, and lived his early years in Davenport, Iowa, and Coral Gables, Florida. Steve remembered being in Boy Scouts, and spending lots of time at the YMCA. He was very good on the trampoline and loved gymnastics. During his junior year of high school, the family relocated to Texas where Steve attended Pasadena High School. He was disappointed they did not offer gymnastics so he pursued cheerleading & diving. He made friends easily and enjoyed water skiing with neighbors.
After graduating in 1960, Steve took all the money he earned from working with an air conditioner repairman and in a propeller shop and headed to Lubbock where he spent his first year at Texas Tech University studying Engineering. He said the US was in a space race with Russia and needed engineers. He pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon and really enjoyed college life. He was part of the freshman cheerleading squad and was the only member of the freshman diving team. Steve then “ran out of money” and returned home to attend University of Houston as a sophomore. He changed his major to Biology to pursue a career in Dentistry.
Steve had the honor of going to the 1962 Tangerine Bowl. He back-flipped across the field as the very first costumed mascot, Shasta. Steve developed many friendships that continued through his life and until his passing. Steve graduated in 1965 and was accepted into the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston. While studying, Steve worked as a phlebotomist at Baylor College of Medicine and as a lab technician for many local dentists. He graduated with his Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1969.
Years later, he continued his education by completing levels 1-4 at the Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida. The pursuit of knowledge and excellence was always a part of his life. When dental labs were not giving him the quality of work he demanded, he added a lab to his office where he could fabricate what he needed for his patients. He was accepted as a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry in 1979. Steve mentored many young dentists through his career and was always eager to share what he had learned. Beginning in 2000, Steve committed himself to completing all four levels of training in Portland, Oregan at the OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry. This journey took six years to complete and involved classroom as well as clinical instruction. If you were a patient of his, you would have heard him talk about balanced bites and the MAGO. His passion for restoring worn down teeth had him changing lives and relieving TMJ pain for hundreds of his patients over the years.Steve shared his skills in dentistry by donating his services for mission work in Honduras through the Micah Project. It is a ministry to save, house and educate young boys from the streets of Tegucigalpa. Steve was active in the local, state and national dental societies. He served on the Jurisprudence and Peer Review boards for the Texas Dental Society.
For recreation, Steve was an avid golfer and tennis player. He made many friends at Chancellor’s Tennis Club. He also enjoyed playing poker with a group of guys that met once a month at each other's home. The stakes were nickels and dimes, but the camaraderie was priceless, and included lots of joking and wine. Never the shy one, Steve loved dancing and hearing live music. West Coast Swing and the Whip at the Melody Club kept him active. His last dance was New Year’s Eve 2020. Mustang Sally was a favorite song. Steve also had a yearly snow ski trip with two old friends. They flew or drove to Dillon, Colorado every year for almost 30 years. In 2006, Steve found time to travel more on cruise ships, with his sister being the planner. He sailed all over the world, crossed the equator multiple times, strolled the streets of Venice, Rome, St Petersburg, London, Beijing and too many more to mention. In 2011, he purchased a Carver 440 Aft Cabin Cruiser yacht and named it "Our Time". In November of 2015 Steve and Kathleen set out on The Great Loop. This adventure took them around the Eastern US Coast into Canada and back down through the rivers of the Central US States returning home to Galveston, Texas in January of 2017.
Steve lived and practiced dentistry in the Houston/Bellaire, Texas area for 50 years before retiring to League City, Texas. Steve had long supported Libertarians like Dr Ron Paul and, in later years, became involved with the Ron Paul Institute for Liberty and The Mises Institute that Dr. Paul helped found. Steve believed in small government, personal property and freedom. Many thought he argued politics but, if you listened, it was the economic policies and philosophy of government about which he was passionate. He loved to hear other viewpoints and to discuss topics like the Federal Reserve, the court systems, the impact of biased news on the current economy, and how socialism is destroying our country. He believed that, without knowing history, we were doomed to repeat it. He attended online classes and traveled to attend many seminars on these topics.Through the last years of his life, Steve enjoyed studying and discussing philosophy and economics, drinking red wine, and spending time with friends and family.
Steve is preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Doris Benson of Missouri City, Texas, and his daughter, Jennifer. He is survived by his love of 14 years, Kathleen Fergus Nau; his daughter, Melissa Benson Murray (Mike) of Sequim, Washington; his sister, Julianne Benson Matthews (Joe) of Deer Park, Texas; his niece and nephews, Joe Matthews (Suzy) of Katy, Texas, Kim Matthews McDougald (Jeff) of Hitchcock, Texas, Kevin Matthews of La Porte, Texas and five great nephews.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Steve’s name to The Mises Institute at 518 West Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL. www.mises.org. It is the world’s leading supporter of the ideas of liberty, scholarship of Austrian economics, freedom and peace.
