Obituary of Bruce Nicol Bensley

Bruce N. Bensley, of Madison, New Jersey, passed away on August 4, 2024. He was 95.

Born in Summit, New Jersey in 1929, Mr. Bensley spent most of his life in Madison. He was the son of the late Muriel Nicol and Dr. Maynard G. Bensley, co-founder with Dr. William Lawrence, of the Summit Medical Group, now Summit Health.

Mr. Bensley attended the Pingry and Hotchkiss Schools and graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1951. He attended graduate school at New York University. He began working at the Hanover Bank, now JPMorgan Chase, and held management positions at Goldman Sachs and C. J. Lawrence & Sons (subsequently Deutsche Bank).

He served on the Board of the Summit YMCA and was President of the Morriston YMCA and the Central Atlantic Committee of the national YMCA. A Trustee of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, he was also chair of its Investment Committee. He received an honorary degree from Hobart College in 2001. He served as President of the Parents Leadership Council of Trinity College. In addition, he was a Trustee of the Fannie E. Rippel Foundation for over thirty years and chaired its Investment Committee. He was also a Director of the Morris County Savings Bank and a Trustee of Morristown Memorial Hospital, now Morristown Medical Center.

A longtime member of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison, Mr. Bensley served as Senior Warden.  He was a Lay Reader and Lay Weeder, and a leader of the capital campaign that significantly expanded the church complex in 2009. He was a recipient of the David P. Hegg II Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.

Mr. Bensley was a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts; the Investment Committee of the National Investment for the Blind; the Squadron A Association; the Saint Andrews Society of New York; and the Stock Exchange Luncheon Club

He was a Trustee and Vice President of The Morristown Club and a member of the Morris County Golf Club and Baltusrol Golf Club.

Energetic and athletic, Bruce loved sailing, golf, tennis, and skiing. He was an avid bridge player and delighted in traveling. He was warm and outgoing and endlessly generous with his time and his gifts.  He thrived on sharing time with his family and his friends.

In addition to his late parents, Mr. Bensley was predeceased by his first wife, Joan Rippel Bensley; his beloved stepmother of 78 years, Helen Flemmer Bensley; and his brother, Gordon G. Bensley.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Diane Wickstrom Bensley; his sister, Penelope Bensley Truitt; three children: Lisbeth Richards Bensley (David Anderson), B. Nicol Bensley, Jr. (Carolyn Young), and Carolyn Bensley Muszala (W. Matthew Muszala); four grandchildren: Alex Pino, Jake Pino, Bensley Muszala, and Truman Muszala; two great-grandchildren: James Pino and Maddie Pino; and many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 11:00 am, at Grace Episcopal Church, 4 Madison Avenue, Madison, New Jersey 07940. A reception will follow at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Grace Episcopal Church at the above address.

Arrangements are under the care of Burroughs, Korhr & Dangler Funeral Home, Madison, NJ.