Lawrence Roy Benjamin, PhD

Racine (formerly of Kensington, MD)- Lawrence Roy Benjamin, PhD; lost his ten-year personal battle with cancer on April 10, 2013 at the age of 41, but professionally his research against cancer continues on with other scientists.  

Born on April 21, 1971, Larry graduated from Horlick in 1989, received his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at UW-Madison in 1993, and accepted a fellowship to Penn State where he received his doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2000.  He completed his post-doctoral work in the David Levens Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, and continued his research there until March 2010.  Larry’s research into reprogramming the output of genes was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and has been viewed by thousands of colleagues across the globe.  Larry’s contributions may one day hold the key to better understanding cancer growth.  

Larry is survived by his parents, Lawrence J.  and Kathleen (nee: Radewan) Benjamin; brothers, Jeffrey (Heather) Benjamin  and Timothy (Anna) Benjamin; nephews, Hunter and Logan; grandmother, Ethel Radewan; aunts, uncles and other relatives.  He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Elmer Radewan; Irene and Erwin Benjamin; and an uncle, Duane DeCaire.  

Funeral services will be held in the Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 10:00 am with Rev. Mark R. Jones officiating. Interment will follow in West Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be in the funeral home on Saturday from 8:30 -10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 550, Chicago IL 60631.  

A heartfelt note of thanks to Hospice Alliance – especially Mohamed and Sham; and to Larry’s local oncologist, Dr. Michael P. Mullane, for the incredible care and support given in our time of need.