Mr. Ramon Harold "Ray" Benson

COLUMBIA - Graveside service for Ramon Harold “Ray� Benson, 81, will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2011, in Ft. Jackson National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Mr. Benson died Monday, May 23, 2011. Born in Atlanta, he was a son of the late Philip and Minna Fleischer Bizinsky. A 50-year graduate of the University of Georgia in Journalism, he retired from The State Newspaper in 1987 after a career that spanned 37 years. His years with the newspaper included working in Sports and a stint as the once popular “Man on the Street�. He finished his career after years of serving as TV Editor, a position he created while developing the weekly Television Magazine. He worked closely with the major television networks and interviewed hundreds of well-known and famous celebrities of the era. He transformed his interviews into informative articles about the stars that appeared each week in the Television Magazine insert. He was a member of Beth Shalom Synagogue. Surviving are his wife of 31 years, Elna R. Benson; daughter, Linda Smoak; son, Jonathan Michael Benson, all of Columbia; grandchildren, Richard Gary (Nikki) of Columbus, Ohio, Lisa Dinkins (Rod) of Columbia; Elizabeth Tager of Columbia; great-grandchildren, Shaun Gary of Columbus, Erick Ponce, Haley Ponce, Savannah Tager, Bailey Tager, all of Columbia; niece, Jan Beerman of Orlando, Fla. He was predeceased by a brother, Benjamin Benson and a sister, Helen Beerman. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of one’s choice.