Charles Thomas Benton

Charles Thomas Benton, age 88, passed away on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. A church service for family and friends will be held on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church, located at 31 St. Gregory Drive in Bluffton, South Carolina 29909. Following the mass, the ashes will be moved to the Columbarium behind the church. Refreshments will follow in the church parish hall.

Although he answered to Charles, Chas, Charlie, and Chuck, “Chas” as he was most known by, was born on August 10, 1937 in Lyndora, Pennsylvania. Chas was the youngest of four children of John Benton and Laura Jablonski Benton. His siblings included Dorothy Manny (Joseph), Gertrude Natalucci (Nello) and Bernard Benton (Dorothy). Both his parents and his three siblings pre-deceased him. Chas graduated from Butler High School in 1955. He went on to attend Grove City College in Grove City,

Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business, which he put to good use serving as Controller of two Jacobson’s stores in downtown Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he worked for 38 years.

He and his wife Carol J. Benton dated in their late teens and were married on April 22, 1961. They moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan after their marriage and had two children – Christy J. Benton (Steve Kleintop) of Chicago, Illinois and Chad M. Benton (Dawn Benton) of Marietta, Georgia. Chas also had two grandchildren whom he loved very much – Jacob C. Benton (21), a senior at Auburn University and Katherine O. Benton (18), a freshman at the University of Alabama. He and Carol remained in Grand Rapids, Michigan for over 40 years, before retiring to warmer weather in Bluffton, South Carolina in 2000. Chas and Carol had just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in April.

Chas was often the life of the party and loved socializing with family and friends. He was famous for telling jokes and stories from his past, which always had everyone in stitches.

Chas also loved all sports and carried on the tradition of cheering for his hometown Pittsburgh teams, including the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, throughout his life. The family used to joke that he would watch any sporting event on TV, including underwater basket weaving, if it were ever declared a sport. He enjoyed playing golf with his buddies both in Michigan and in South Carolina. After retiring, he even took a job as a Golf Ranger in Michigan and South Carolina to keep himself busy, where he added to his collection of golf balls. Chas also served as a Security Guard in Oldfield Plantation.

Chas was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at https://curealz.org, in support of continued research and a cure for this terrible disease or to another cause close to your heart.