Benton Hyme Duncan, 84, of Forsyth, Mo.,
passed away March 25, 2013, at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Mo. Benton was born on Jan., 25, 1929, in Haleyville, Winston County, Ala. He was the son of Jesse Wesley Duncan and Parlee Gertrude (Barnes) Duncan.
Benton is survived by a brother, Jerry Travis (Janie) Duncan, of Tecumseh, Mich.; sisters, Betty Jane Love, of Columbia, Tenn; Bessie Nell Nichols, of Kimberly, Ala; sisters-in-law, Wilma Duncan, of Columbia, Tenn., Nellie Amerson, of Jasper, Ala., brothers-in-law, Danny (Dianne) Amerson, of Naples, Fla., Jerry (Vicy) Amerson, of Ala.; numerous nieces; and nephews; special friends, Larry (Jan) Ray, Udell (Tracy) Dalton, Sue Hughey and Faye Cole.
Benton was preceded in death by wife of 28 years, Geraldine Lavrette (Amerson) Duncan; brother, Arthur Thomas Duncan; brothers-in-law, Mansell Love, Raymond Wells, Lenard Nichols; sister-in-law, Geneva Duncan; and a personal friend, Mildred Smith.
Benton and his brother Thomas were on the 1947 Phil Campbell, Ala., basketball team that won the Alabama All State Basketball Championship. He attended Auburn College and played forward in basketball. Benton was inducted into the Franklin County, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on March 18, 1998. He had many hobbies, playing the guitar, fishing, traveling and square dancing. He was a retired supervisor at Ford Motor Co., Truck Plant, Wayne, Mich.
Benton enlisted in the U.S. Army in the fall of 1950, went to Fort Jackson, S.C. and, sixteen weeks later, was on his way to Korea. While in the Korean (war) conflict he was a lineman, received two Battle Stars and was discharged with honors.
Benton was baptized in the Spruce Pine, Alabama Methodist Church at age sixteen.
Visitation will be at the Forsyth Whelchel Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, March 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. Graveside service will be on Monday, April 1, 2013, at Highland Cemetery, Ypsilanti, Mich. Benton was a gentle giant of a man and will be greatly missed. Benton loved people.
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