Today's Featured Biography

 
Gerald S. Benham, Jr.

The ‘60s:
I come from generations of Gloucester fishermen and wanted to continue on with the tradition. However my father strongly suggested that I go to college and not find myself freezing on a vessel fishing the Grand Banks in the middle of a North Atlantic winter like he and my grandfather before him. So following LHS graduation, not having college in my sights, I began building homes with my uncle in Falmouth Heights and the New Seabury. In 1961, I was accepted to the first class at Cape Cod Community College and received an AA degree in business with the second class in 1964. I was a member of the CCCC ice hockey club, participated in CCCC intramural football, and played amateur ice hockey with the Barnstable Town team. I was a member of the Cape Cod Customs car club in Chatham and participated in drag racing throughout New England venues including a one-time drag racing event held at West Dennis beach. While at CCCC, I built an Oldsmobile powered ‘33 Plymouth 5-window chopped and channeled hot rod coupe.
Following CCCC, I was accepted to U. Mass., Amherst and graduated in 1967 with a BS degree in entomology. I was a member of the U. Mass. varsity ice hockey team and participated in intramural football. While a fulltime student, and a police officer working a 40-hour shift with the Amherst Police Department, I found time to work part-time for the U. S. Forest Service. With the education “bug” in me, I was accepted to the U. Rhode Island and graduated in 1969 with a MS degree in plant pathology & entomology. At URI, I continued to participate in intramural football.
Having what appeared to be a desire to be a professional student, I was accepted into a Ph.D. program at the U. California, Berkeley in 1969.

The ‘70s:
I attended Cal for 3 years full-time and 2 years part-time working toward a Ph.D. in entomology specializing in natural enemies of insect pests and published numerous scientific papers. As part of the program, I took interdisciplinary courses at U. C., Davis and the Ohio State University. Again I participated in Cal intramural football and was a member of the Cal martial arts club. During the early ‘70s while at Cal, I enjoyed heavy weight lifting, swimming, running, and preparing for a walk-on tryout with the New England Patriots. In order to gain some full-contact activity, I worked out with members of the Oakland Raiders taxi squad. To fulfill my professional football dream, I traveled to the U. Mass, Amherst campus, then summer camp for the New England Patriots, and gave it a try. Able to punt 60 yards, the coaches asked me to stay for the summer. I left out one important point which is; I had a bad knee. Checking myself out from the Patriots, I returned back to Berkeley, and an Oakland Raiders orthopedic surgeon operated on my knee. Today that knee is totally titanium.
My wife, Bernadette, and I met at Berkeley. It was love at first sight. I left Cal and began my career in clinical and biomedical sales and marketing with Scientific Instrument Co., an Olympus distributor.

The ’80s; the ‘90s; and the 2000s:
Bernadette and I along with our son Nathan and daughter Amy packed up everything and moved from northern California to Evergreen, Colorado so I could manage the new Scientific Instrument’s Denver office and sales in the Rocky Mountain States. Before moving to Colorado, Bernadette and I purchased a deep water cruising yacht berthed in Sausalito. We enjoyed it immensely while living in the Bay area; but visited it infrequently from Colorado. You know the old saying, “the best 2 days of your boating life are, the day you buy your boat, and the day you sell your boat”. I then joined Carl Zeiss Inc. and specialized in ophthalmic sales and product management and was employed by Zeiss at the time Bernadette and I attended my 25th LHS reunion. I had several opportunities to visit the Zeiss factories in Germany. Thus began my opportunity for international travel. In spite of knee surgery, I continued to run 10Ks competitively. In the mid ‘80s, I joined Bio-Rad Laboratories and became sales and marketing manager based in Cambridge, MA (3 years) and international marketing manager based in London, England (2 years). While living in England, Bernadette and I traveled throughout Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia.
I joined Nikon Inc. in the mid ‘90s to become confocal microscopy manager and lived on Long Island for 3 years before moving back to our permanent home in Evergreen, CO. While with Nikon, I was also a sales & marketing manager, business development manager, and digital imaging specialist and had the opportunity to cover all of Latin America. For several years during the spring and summer months, I served as commercial faculty in courses offered by the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, MA and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. By the time I left Nikon last year, I had visited and conducted business in 42 countries. Today I am a Senior Consultant.

During the past 50 years, my hobbies and activities have included: spending time with my family, including our two dogs; appreciating cars; freelance writing for periodicals; reading books about key historical figures and environmental issues; collecting wines from around the world; sailing; collecting and watching movies; collecting books; numerous sporting activities as both participant and spectator; avid art collector; dancing; supporting charitable nonprofit organizations; martial arts specializing in Judo; target shooting, motorcycling, infrequent rounds of golf; practicing good timber stand improvement on our Evergreen, CO property; and of course, travelling.
I am a Eucharistic minister for Christ the King church in Evergreen, Co, and a volunteer patient care giver, patient social services specialist, and fund raiser for the Hospice of Saint John, Lakewood, CO.

All the best to everyone and see you at our 50th reunion.

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