Obituary of Park Benjamin III

Park Benjamin III of Centre Island, NY passed away on September 16, 2023, just shy of his 80th birthday.

Park was born on October 4, 1943, in New York, NY to Park Benjamin Jr and Beatrix Hoyt Benjamin.  He was the beloved husband of Linda Rae and a loving father of Park and John (Jay).  

Park was raised in Glen Cove, New York, attended Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York, and graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1965. After serving in the United States Coast Guard, he embarked on a career in investment banking at Lazard Freres, while simultaneously earning an l MBA from New York University. He subsequently moved on to municipal finance banking roles at Manufacturers Hanover, Chemical Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank.

Park was raised in a family with a rich sailing culture and developed a love for sailing at a young age.  His father, Park Jr, co-founded the Oyster Bay Yacht Service and his mother, Beatrix (known as Trixie), was an accomplished yachtswoman who encouraged her four sons to sail at an early age. This love of the sport has continued to be passed down through generations of the family.

Park was a long-time, active and influential member of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club in Oyster Bay, New York.  He joined the club in 1969 and rose to the rank of Commodore in 1989-1991. In the 1980’s and 1990’s Park and his family actively raced and cruised on the family’s sailboat, Gambler, in the waters of Long Island Sound and southern New England.  In later years, Park and Linda owned a powerboat, Avanti, which they enjoyed cruising on as far north as Boston Harbor.  Over the past several decades Park remained active at Seawanhaka with roles in the club’s Race Committee, as an editor of the club’s Log, and additional functions.  Park was also a member of the New York Yacht Club and served as an officer of the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound, most recently as Secretary. Park was, among other things, an enthusiastic participant in the annual “Moosehead” award ceremony, humorously celebrating the gaffes and miscues of race committees around the Sound.

Park enjoyed time with friends he kept for decades, was known to be adventurous and fun-loving and could always bring a smile to the room. He was a proud grandfather, a skilled family historian, a talented gardener, an avid skier and a devoted dog lover.

Park will be deeply missed by his family, including his loving wife Linda, sons Park (Amanda) and Jay (Kirsten), brothers the late Hoyt (Rebecca), Bill (Caroline), and Steve, and granddaughters Avery, Caroline, Sophie, Isobel and Julia, five nieces and nephews and four stepchildren and their ninechildren.  Funeral services will be held privately on September 21st in Wappingers Falls, New York, with a celebration of Park’s life with friends and family to be held in Oyster Bay, New Yorkat a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Park’s name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society athttps://www.lls.org/.