John Benjamin Benear, 86, died the morning of March 24, 2014, at his home in Tulsa in the company of his beloved wife, Rita. He served his country as a naval officer in the Korean War. He returned home from the war to work for Cities Service. He later joined Explorer Pipeline where he served as Manager of Engineering for 23 years. John was also an avid fan of OU football.
An alumnus of Central High School, John was a brother in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity at OU, where he met Geraldine Thompson, his future wife and mother of his two children, Robyn Ewing and Jay Benear. After 47 years of marriage, Gerry preceded John in death in 1997.
Rita Payton, a fellow player in his duplicate bridge club, became John's second wife in 1998 and joined him in world travels to Alaska, France and cross country car trips. Christie, a tiny teacup poodle joined the couple as John's loyal companion for 12 years and was a popular addition to their Monday night bridge games at Whiteside Park.
John is survived by his wife and children, as well as 9 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. The family will have a service celebrating his life on Saturday, March 29th at 11am at the First Presbyterian Chapel with a reception following at the home of Robyn and Larry Ewing. The family
requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Hospice of Green County. Moore's Southlawn
918-663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com