Robert was an Air Force B-17 tailgunner and a survivor of Pearl Harbor.

He worked as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier and was a member of VFW Post 1432 and Leslie Kreps American Legion Post. He loved gardening on his farm and attended the Kansas State Fair for 50 consecutive years. He was a champion chicken picker at Benfield Poultry House on Fifth Street in Salina.

Robert is survived by his spouse, Mary Blanck Benfield; his two sons, Gary Robert Benfield, of Salina, and George Richard Benfield and wife Bethanne, of Virginia Beach, Va.; a daughter, Mary Ann Hay and husband Joe, of Salina; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Salina. Burial will be in Gypsum Hill Cemetery, Salina.

Friends may call from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ryan Mortuary, Salina, where family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday evening.

Memorials are suggested to the Saline County Animal Shelter or the church.