Malcolm D. Benson died on January 1, 2015, in Ontario, California, of complications from pneumonia. He was 94. Born in Winchester, Indiana, on March 27, 1920, he served in the Army in New Guinea during World War II. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s in organ at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, where he studied with Frank Van Duzen. He was an assistant professor of music at Wheaton College in Illinois where he met the love of his life, Phyllis J. Holzwarth; they were married in 1950, and their son Daniel was born in 1953. They moved to San Bernardino in the mid-1950s where he worked for the local school district. He earned a second master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern California and served as a public school librarian until the mid-1970s. In San Bernardino, Benson served as organist at St. Paul’s Methodist Church, then as organist and choir director at St. John’s Episcopal Church, a post he held for 30 years. He was a member of the American Guild of Organists, and a subscriber to The Diapason since he was 19.
Malcolm D. Benson is survived by his son Daniel and his sister Eloise Nicholl of Pasadena.
Robert S. MacDonald, 77, died on October 4, 2014. Born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, on December 1, 1936, he earned a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from Boston University and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.
In New York City, he played at Grace Church and at Radio City Music Hall, where for many years he was the organist for the annual Christmas show. MacDonald then played at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, New Jersey. He served as organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where he played for 19 years before retiring. Upon his return to Massachusetts, he again was called on to play at the First Congregational Church in Rowley.
Robert S. MacDonald is survived by brothers Richard C. MacDonald and his wife Mary Ellen, and John E. MacDonald and his wife Judy, along with nephews Colin, Aiden, and Edward MacDonald, a niece, Jennifer Mariani, four grandnephews, and two grandnieces. ν
