NOTES:
1930 PA CENSUS - Benny A. Fleck (6y, b Pennsylvania) enumerated with parents George D. (47y, b Pennsylvania, married at age 37y, occupation radio station program director) and Mabel (36y, b Pennsylvania, married at age 26y)
1940 PA CENSUS - enjamin Fleck (16y, b Pennsylvania) enumerated with parents G,. Dare (57y, b Pennsylvania, occupation traffic manager) and Mabel (46y, b Pennsylvania); family was living in same house in 1935
1st MARRIAGE - Benjamin Fleck & Marjorie Cooper md 17 Aug 1952, Multnomah Co, Oregon
2nd MARRIAGE - Carlene "Cally" Davenport, Jun 2007
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OBITUARY:
Benjamin Armstrong Fleck, 87, the only child of George Dare Fleck and Mabel Stewart Fleck, was born May 10, 1923, in Pittsburgh. He passed away Aug. 11, 2010, at Providence Portland Medical Center following a brief illness. Ben graduated from Peabody High School in Pittsburgh. In 1943 he received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Pittsburgh. Ben served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater with the Cannon Company, 391st Infantry, 98th Infantry Division. In August of 1945, he was part of the first wave into Japan, where he spent five months. After leaving the Army, he earned a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University in 1948. He then joined the U.S. Foreign Service, where his first post was in Caracas, Venezuela. Upon expressing a desire for a post in south Asia, he was sent to the University of Pennsylvania for courses in South Asian studies and the Hindustani language. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he sang in the choir of a local Methodist church and met Marjorie Cooper, a home missionary from Portland. He convinced her to marry him and move to New Delhi, India, in October 1952. He completed some 30 years of tours of duty in Chenai (Madras), India, and Seoul, Korea, where he was instrumental in working out peace agreements with North Korea. Ben's last assignment was as deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar), for three years. He returned to Washington, D.C., for four years between each foreign assignment. In 1988, he and Marjorie retired to West Linn and subsequently moved to the Willamette View retirement complex in 2001. Marjorie passed away in February 2006. Ben's life started with singing in the church youth choir in Pittsburgh and succeeding choirs, playing the piano, collecting stamps, and participating in musical dramatics. At Willamette View he served on the residents' council, the Willamette View Foundation, and for the last four years of his life he was editor of the Willamette Views monthly paper. In June 2007, he married Carlene "Cally" Davenport, and together they traveled to Norway, Denmark, Hawaii, Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. In addition to Cally, Ben is survived by his three sons and their families, Alan of Irving, Texas; Kenneth of Price, Utah; and David of Ames, Iowa; stepson, Stephen Davenport of Seattle; and stepdaughter, Linda Davison of Sterling, Colo. Ben had six grandchildren and three step-grandchildren. A celebration of Ben's life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010, in Oak Grove United Methodist Church at the intersection of Southwest Rupert Drive and Oak Grove Boulevard in Oak Grove with light refreshments following the service. Memorials should be directed to Willamette View Inc. Foundation, 13021 S.E. River Rd., Portland, OR 97222, or Oak Grove United Methodist Church Youth Group, P.O. Box 68238, Oak Grove, OR 97268.
Oregonian, The (Portland, Oregon) 18 Aug 2010
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