Richard Maurice (Maury) Benbow, 83, of Gwynedd, PA, gently died on January 10, 2023, after a four-year battle with lung cancer.
Maury was born in 1939 to Ruth Lanier Benbow and Richard Charles Benbow in Cedar Falls, N.C. After graduating from Asheboro High School, he attended NC State where he earned a degree in ceramic engineering. He joined Owens Corning Fiberglass in Toledo, Ohio, and by the age of 27 he managed 250 people in three manufacturing operations. He left OCF, became a certified property manager, and after working for other companies, formed his own real estate management company.
Maury was an avid sailor and racer. He proposed to his wife Bonnie after a 3-year courtship, when he finally decided she would be decent crew. They were married in 1975 and have been shipmates ever since. Their children Nate and Samantha often joined them on their sailing/racing adventures. All of Maury’s boats have been named Smidge, because the difference between winning and losing a race is trimming the sails, “just a smidge.” And he did win races – regattas, club championships, the Interlake Nationals, Maryland’s Governor’s Cup (Annapolis to St. Mary’s City), the Caribbean 1500 (Chesapeake to the BVI), and many others with his friends and family crewing. A friendly sailmaker dubbed him “a legend,” and that moniker stayed with him, to his great embarrassment. Maury and Bonnie sailed their HR 43 as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada and spent five years cruising the eastern and western Caribbean, a highlight of which was spending time with the Guna Indians in the San Blas Islands of Panama.
Maury’s many activities at Asheboro High School included membership in the Key Club and the football, basketball, and track teams, but he most enjoyed playing baseball in a community league. In college he was a member of and held offices in Sigma Nu fraternity, the American Ceramic Society, and student government, to name just a few. Professionally, he was active in the Institute of Real Estate Management. Sailing affiliations included North Cape Yacht Club, Maumee River Yacht Club, Jolly Roger Sailing Club, Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, Interlake Yachting Association, International Lightning Association, Riverton Yacht Club, Rock Hall Yacht Club, Hallberg-Rassy Owners Association, and Havre de Grace Yacht Club. Maury and his family were members of Yardley Friends Meeting.
Maury was a kind, fun-loving, adventurous man who displayed the utmost integrity on the racecourse, in business, and in life.
He will be missed.
Maury is survived by his wife Bonnie, children Nathaniel and Samantha, sister Elizabeth Finley, and his grandsons Julian Smith and Elias Benbow Bardi.
A memorial service will be held at Yardley Friends Meeting on January 28, at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Abramson Cancer Center Development, 3535 Market Street, Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104.