Alvan R. Benjamin of Warren, Vermont, owner of The Valley Reporter in Waitsfield, Vermont, died peacefully at home on May 30, 2015. He was 88 years old.
He was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on August 6, 1926, to Ida (Barnett) and Israel Benjamin. He was raised in Malden, Massachusetts, and graduated from Malden High School in 1943, where he was one of the first Massachusetts high school students to run a five-minute mile. He enrolled in Boston University, where he attended one semester before joining the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He served in active combat duty in World War II and later in the Korean War, including the famous Retreat from Chosin Reservoir. After WWII, he returned to school and graduated from Boston University with a degree in business administration.
After his military service and graduation, he opened his own advertising agency in Boston, Lee, Lewis and Benjamin, specializing in public relations, advertising and political clients.
He assisted in the election of Endicott Peabody as a member of the governor’s council and later Peabody’s election as governor of Massachusetts. In 1961, he joined the staff of Massachusetts Governor Foster Furcolo where he served as the governor's press secretary. In that capacity, he opened the first gubernatorial press conferences in Massachusetts to radio and television reporters.
After his service in the governor’s office, he became the first full-time radio/TV reporter at the Massachusetts State House, for WNAC Radio 680 and later Channel 5 WBZ-TV in Boston. He remained in that position until he left to join the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association where he served as many years as director of public relations.
He continued to offer commentary about politics in the Bay State and the nation throughout his long career, and he interviewed many prominent political figures, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Ted Kennedy and Herbert Humphrey, among others.
In 1982, upon retirement to Warren, fulfilling the dream of many reporters, he purchased the Mad River Valley’s weekly paper, The Valley Reporter, and served as editor and publisher until 2000. He remained active in the paper and in his community until his death.
Benjamin was a skier, a golfer and a regular at Chez Henri and Caesar’s Palace. He is survived by his beloved companion, Barbara M. Nestor; Peter Fenn and Tara Zadeh and family; the Ross family; as well as friends and colleagues in Boston and Vermont, too numerous to mention.
He was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Carl Benjamin.
A celebration of Al’s life will be held at Chez Henri in Warren, Vermont, at a later date to be announced, after it re-opens next fall. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Mad River Valley Ambulance Service (mrvas.org, P.O. Box 305, Waitsfield, VT 05673) or Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (cvhhh.org, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641). Assisting the family is Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury. To send online condolences visit www.perkinsparker.com.
