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Deacon Lee Ashby Benson III, who served St. Ignatius Parish in Hickory died Jan. 23, 2026. He was 73. (Courtesy Benson Family)

Lee Benson, longtime Harford County deacon, dies at 73


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Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: deacons, Feature, Local News, News, Obituaries

Deacon Lee Ashby Benson III, who served St. Ignatius Parish in Hickory as an influential, joyful figure for nearly two decades, died Jan. 23.

He was 73, and had been in declining health since suffering a stroke in 2024.

Deacon Benson was one of the last nine men ordained as permanent deacons by Cardinal William H. Keeler May 21, 2007, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland before the cardinal’s retirement.

Deacon Lee Ashby Benson III was one of the last nine men ordained as permanent deacons by Cardinal William H. Keeler May 21, 2007, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland before the cardinal’s retirement. (Courtesy photo)

He embraced the diaconate after a career in business, where he had taken over the wholesale industrial distribution company L.A. Benson, founded by his father.

Born in Baltimore Nov. 17, 1952, he grew up in St. Joseph Parish in Cockeysville and Immaculate Conception Parish in Towson. Deacon Benson attended Catholic schools, including Loyola Blakefield in Towson. He was a graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he majored in engineering, and married his wife Debra in 1975.

As a deacon at St. Ignatius, he came fully into his own. That included work in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), and in 2014, along with his wife, he introduced the parish to the Baltimore-based ChristLife program, a hospitality-centered approach to evangelization aimed at those on the margins of faith.

As he told the Catholic Review in 2017, “As leaders of these things you find yourself giving, giving, giving,” adding, “I really feel my calling in bringing people to Jesus Christ.” 

Cetta York, director of faith formation at St. Ignatius, said her fondest memory of Deacon Benson was his “extraordinary kindness and compassion.” She worked with him for 12 years in OCIA.

“He had a presence about him,” she said. “He taught us the importance of daily prayer that leads us into a closer relationship with our Lord that never ends. He opened up the Scriptures for us and, along with our other team members, broadened the hearts and minds of our candidates and catechumens through a host of topics and discussions. I loved working with him.”

Father Marc Lanoue, associate pastor of St. Ignatius, remembered Deacon Benson’s “poignant homilies” and called him “a devoted Catholic through and through.”

“He would often stand in front of the altar to offer his sermons, though after a time, due to health issues, he would bring a stool to sit on,” Father Lanoue said. “He was a great example, not only through his preaching, but also through his lived life of faith.”

Parishioner Barbara Deller called Deacon Benson “a very spiritual and prayerful person, who didn’t complain, but took action where needed.”

“Back in 2014, (he) saw an opportunity to strengthen and serve St. Ignatius and so he began a ChristLife program,” she said. “He did all the work of organizing, promoting, developing leaders and leading together with Deborah.”

She noted that participants in ChristLife were often transformed from being “nominal, go-to-Mass-on-weekend-only parishioners” to “active, transformed, faith-filled parishioners.”

Bridgit Goedeke, wife of Deacon Ken Goedeke, said Deacon Benson was “an instrumental presence in my husband’s discernment and how we came to be parishioners at St. Ignatius.”

She said he “had a gentle way of being fully present to our St. Ignatius family. From being a star bingo caller and working the crowd during his ‘off call’ time to his practical homilies that inspired reflection and discipleship without the listener realizing it, Deacon Lee brought joy with everything that he did.”

Her favorite memory was during a mid-year retreat. The participants were invited to join a prayer circle with ChristLife leaders. 

“I had my time of personal prayer that was simply beautiful,” she said, “but it was in my observation of watching Lee and Deb pray over Ken – surely the Holy Spirit was fully present and I trusted in God in a whole new way.”In addition to his wife, Deacon Benson is survived by son Coleman (Angel) of Bel Air, daughter Ashley of Bel Air; son Lee (Sarah) of Huntersville, N.C.; brother Robert Benson and sisters Jinni Benson, Joan B. Albert and Mary Jean Meyer; and grandchildren CJ, Ben, Jacob and Sophia. A daughter, Erin, preceded him in death.

Visitation will be at Evans Life Celebration Home in Forest Hill Feb. 6, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be offered Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. at St. Ignatius.

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