Civic activist Fred G. Benton dies
Fred G. Benton Jr., a former city-parish bond attorney who helped bring the USS Kidd to Baton Rouge and create the Port Hudson State Historic Site, died early Tuesday morning after battling Parkinson’s disease for 14 years.
He was 87.
“He was a true titan of a man, and noble,” said his son, Steve Benton. “He was a quiet person on the whole, but he would not mind a fight. He fought for what was right.”
Fred Benton won the Golden Deeds Award in 1983 in part for his work in developing the Port Hudson State Historic Site in Jackson, the site of a Civil War battlefield.
“What he saw was a need to preserve a battlefield and a burial ground where you had the longest siege in American history where thousands of soldiers in that war fought and died, and yet there was no protection of that site,” Steve Benton said.
Steve Benton said he nominated his father for the Golden Deeds Award without telling him.
“He absolutely would not have permitted me to submit anything on his behalf,” Steve Benton said. “He turned down more awards than you can imagine.”
Fred Benton assisted U.S. Rep. W. Henson Moore in his search to bring a ship to Baton Rouge in the 1970s, said David Norwood, a former Advocate employee who helped Benton and Moore with the pursuit.
Moore asked officials with the U.S. Navy if there was a ship available, and the Navy said it had one at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Norwood said.
“We flew to the Philadelphia Naval Yard to look at it,” Norwood said. “He (Benton) was completely enthralled by Navy ships.”
Fred Benton also served as the city-parish’s bond attorney for more than 30 years, helping fund construction projects such as the East Baton Rouge Parish Governmental Building.
He also helped his father, Fred Benton Sr., draft legislation to create the East Baton Rouge Parish Recreation and Park Commission, according to his obituary.
Norwood said Benton was a dedicated public servant.
“Every person alive needs a Fred Benton in their life,” he said.
Benton ran for mayor-president in 1988, finishing fourth in the primary election.
Benton joined the Navy during World War II after graduating from Baton Rouge High School in 1942. He attended LSU and graduated from LSU Law School in 1951.
Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Rabenhorst Funeral Home on 825 Government St., and continue at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church on 763 North Blvd., with a funeral service at noon at the same location.
Burial services will begin at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Port Hudson National Cemetery, 20978 Port Hickey Road, Zachary.