The servant of God John W. Benza fell asleep in the Lord on November 5, 2021. John was born in 1937 in Pennsylvania and raised in Ohio. He is survived by his bride of 53 years, Jill K. and his adult children: sons John M. and his wife Danyelle, Jeffrey and his wife Holly and daughter Jill Natasha. John was a very loving and proud Papa to his five beautiful grandchildren, Savannah, Matthew, Jonas, Jackson and Nico. John is also survived by his brother Michael (Sarah) and his sister Sonja (Tim) plus many nieces and nephews. John was the ultimate telephone man working over a 42-year span for the Bell System, US West and Lucent Technology. Resident of Mesa since 1981, John was known as a history buff and the keeper of what the family loving referred to as “useless trivia.” John especially loved his church and was a founding member of the St. Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Christian Church in east Mesa. He excelled at being an usher extraordinaire, a fixer of anything broken and church caretaker.
The family asks friends to join us at St. Ignatius Church 2402 N. Usery Pass Road, Mesa, for visitation Sunday, November 14 from 4:30 – 6:00 pm with Trisagion Prayers at 6:00 pm. A meal of mercy will be served immediately following the prayer service as we celebrate a life well lived. The funeral service will be held at the church at 9:30 am Monday, November 15 with internment immediately following at the City of Mesa Cemetery. The family requests in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the United Food Bank in Mesa or to the St. Ignatius Church Building Fund in John’s memory. Condolences may be expressed at www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome.com.
Clifford C Sullivan
We want to express our condolences to the family of John Benza, We worked with John in the Teletype Shop on 2nd Place in Phoenix. John was well liked by his Teletype buddies, After Retirement I used to call John to remind him to come to our Breakfast at Denny’s at 35 Ave & Bethany Home Rd. It was hard for him, he lived so darn far away, but
he did make it to some of them.
The few of us that sill meet are Me,(Cliff Sullivan), Al Bohn, Roger Hill, Wade Hoffman and Ron McComb.
Denise Eslick
John had a zest for life, family and friends. When he told a joke, his eyes twinkled and he had a smile that warmed my heart. John was a positive influence in my life and that’s a gift. Sending tight hugs to the Benza family.
Denise Little Eslick
Kathy Mulhern
My heartfelt condolences to the Benza family on the passing of John. Sending hugs, love and prayers to your family.
Donna Thompson
I’ve gotten to know Jill and Jill through East Valley Women and Politics which has been a pleasure. I wanted to say how sorry I am to hear the sad news. I know if he was married to Jill for 53 years that he had to be a special man! I feel that the family has lots of special memories to help them through this time. My thoughts are with you. Take good care of each other!