Randall Bensinger

Randall Bensinger

Randall "The Farmer" Bensinger, 94, of Walker Township, died Wednesday, August 20, 2025, in Coaldale. He was the husband of the late Helen (Trubilla) Bensinger to whom he was married for 57 years at the time of her death in 2009.

Born on the family farm in Walker Township, Randall was a son of the late Clarence and Ada (Leiby) Bensinger. A 1947 graduate of Tamaqua High School, he worked as a heavy machine operator for many years at Bethlehem Mines and perhaps was best known as the lifetime owner/operator of Bensinger Farms in Lewistown Valley. Randall lived a full, active life, touching many different people through his work, his family, his community service, and his membership in numerous organizations.

He was a former president of the United Mine Workers Local #1571 and served on the safety committee. A life member of the Lewistown Grange #1639, Randall had the gift of gab and enjoyed dancing, farming, and huckstering from a young age on his horse and buggy, a practice he continued on his market route through Coaldale, Tamaqua, Tuscarora, Mary-D, and Brockton up until the age of 85. He was also a life member of both the New England Fire Company and the Tuscarora Sportsman Club, and a regular member of the New Ringgold Fire Company, the West Penn Rod and Gun Club, the Keystone Fishing and Hunting Club, and St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, Lansford. Randall was a former Walker Township Supervisor and a former Walker Township Constable.

Affectionately called "Pap" by his grandchildren, he loved to go on vacations with his granddaughters who, along with his son, will deeply miss him. The last member of his immediate family, Randall is survived by a son, David Bensinger and his wife Margaret; granddaughters Heather Patrick and her husband Rafe, Jennifer Schock and her husband Lamonte, and Jessica Halabura and her husband Travis; great granddaughters Harleigh Patrick, Lyla and Teyla Halabura, and Emma and Mya Schock; daughters Jean Schoch, Marlene Boyle and Helene Zeigler; grandchildren, Josh Warne, Ashley Rodgers and Naomi Zeigler; several great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen; four brothers, Nelson, LeRoy, Daniel and Donald; and two sisters, Stella Schock and Anna Shoener.

Services: The Office of Christian Burial with Divine Liturgy will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 104 East Bertsch Street, Lansford with The Rev. Gregory Hosler officiating. Interment in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery, Summit Hill, will immediately follow the liturgy. Call 6-8 PM on Monday and 8-9 AM on Tuesday at Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home, 500 East Broad Street, Tamaqua. Memorial donations in Randall's name may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or at www.cancer.org. Arrangements are being handled by the Zizelmann-Gulla Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc., 500 East Broad Street, Tamaqua, PA.