Rick Benson

Richard Lynn Benson passed away on November 22nd, 2025 at his home in Salem, Utah at the age of 60. 

Rick was born in Murray, Utah to Lynn Benson and Carolyn “Blondie” Brimhall. The third child of four, he grew up in Sandy; bailing hay, launching boulders in Bell’s canyon, and raising all sorts of hell with his friends on Dimple Dell Road. He graduated from Alta High School in 1983. After he graduated, he worked with his dad driving a truck.

In 1989, he married Julie Jardine. Together, they welcomed two daughters. While they later divorced, they did everything they could to maintain a cordial relationship and put their girls first.

He worked for Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office as a coroner, police officer, detective, undercover narcotics officer, and Sargent. While there, he met Julie Ann Merrell, who worked as a dispatcher. It would take decades for their love story to unfold, but during their time at Wasatch County, they built a friendship that would later be the foundation of their romance. They later reconnected in 2010, and married on June 24th of that year. They spent 15 wonderful years together until his passing.

Rick loved history, reading, mining, and collecting gold and silver. He explored abandoned mines as a child with his friends and once worked at a mine in Park City. He loved taking his Jeep out to explore and look for old mine shafts. He once bought a metal detector and spent many afternoons in Eureka using it the find anything interesting. As a trucker, he listened to many books on tape. He loved both fiction and nonfiction, especially books on World War II. It wasn’t unusual to find his books in bathrooms, usually with a pair of reading glasses.

Rick loved harmless pranks. At one family party, he replaced all of the soap in the house with bars of soap with black powder hidden inside, so that the more you washed your hands, the more dirty they became. He had a cutout of Betty White that he would place in random places in the house to scare people. Imagine his son-in-law’s fright when he went to take a shower and found Betty White waiting for him.

Rick was a foodie and loved experimenting with cooking. He loved smoking meat in his Traeger and finding new ways to make the most tender meat. Supporting local butchers was important to him and he made a point to keep local meat in his freezer at all times. He made the best steaks, roasts, and potatoes. One memorable Christmas Eve, he made the most tender and amazing prime rib.

Rick’s work as a trucker left him with an uncanny sense of direction. If you dropped him in a city at random, there was no doubt he could find his way around. If you were traveling somewhere, he made sure to check the weather and travel alerts to make sure you would be safe. If you didn’t message him when you arrived to your destination, he would call you to make sure you were safe. He instilled strong driving instincts in his daughters and perhaps a bit of road rage.

After being a police officer, Rick worked as a trucker until multiple back surgeries left his disabled. While he struggled with constant pain, he was always finding ways to make home a sanctuary for himself, Julie, and their dogs. He spent time making the back yard his own little paradise. In recent years, he got into drones and loved flying them around the neighborhood.

Rick is survived by his beloved wife Julie Ann Benson; his daughters Cassie Benson and Sadie (Taylor) Wilcox; his parents Lynn (Janet) Benson and Carolyn Brimhall; his siblings Margo (Marin) Gogan, Sjon (Kelly) Benson, and Heidi Benson; his parents-in-law Phil and Marcia Merrell, and his beloved dogs Sammy, Sophie, and Lily. He is also survived nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. He was met on the other side by his grandparents Wally and Dorothy Benson and Ray and Carol Brimhall, three unnamed grandchildren, and a small army of dogs, including one cat.

The viewing will be held on December 1st , 2025 from 9:30-10:30 AM at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 160 S 460 W in Salem, Utah, followed by the funeral service at 11 AM. Interment will follow at 12:30 PM at Salem City Cemetery.

Services Provided by Spring Creek Mortuary.