Diane Bengson, who had an article featured in “Seventeen” magazine and won awards for her nonfiction and fiction writing, was an English major on scholarship at Marshall University. Marshall University was featured in the 2006 movie “We are Marshall,” chronicling the fateful 1970 plane crash that took the lives of 75 football players and the aftermath.
“They had not really recovered when I was there,” said Diane Bengson, of the football team and University community. “They’ve since gone on to win their conference and the national championship in their division.”
Meanwhile, John Bengson was born in Dayton at the St. Anne’s Maternity Hospital, which later became part of the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center. At a young age, his family moved to the College Hill area of Cincinnati, where Bengson grew up and graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 1967 before attending Wittenberg University, where he earned a degree in business in 1971. Following a period of active duty training for the National Guard, Bengson attended Miami University, where he earned an MBA followed by a job with Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati.
“I managed market research for Bounce and Downey fabric softeners, Jiff peanut butter and Duncan Hines cake mix,” said Bengson, who designed interviews, collected data and analyzed the data. “I didn’t enjoy the numbers as much as working with people.”
Bengson followed in his older brother, Glen’s, footsteps and attended the seminary to become a Lutheran pastor. After completing a master of divinity degree at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Bengson became the pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Russell, Ky., which was only 45 minutes across the river from Huntington, W. Va.
In 1980, Bengson took some of the youth from the church to Lutheran Memorial Camp, where he met Diane. Despite Diane Bengson’s earlier protestations that she did not want live in a fish bowl as the wife of a pastor, the granddaughter of two pastors and niece of six pastors, she became engaged to Bengson and married in January 1982. In 1986, the Bengsons moved to Bellbrook after John Bengson was named pastor of Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, a position he held until 1991 when he accepted a position with Right Management, a Manpower company.
Diane Bengson remained at home raising the couple’s three children, Shaun, Joel and Emma. Diane Bengson, a winner of writing competitions, completed a master’s degree in library science from the Kent University long-distance learning program and currently works part time at the Wright Library in Oakwood.
Contact this columnist at (937) 432-9054 or jjbaer@aol.com.
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