Obituary of Roy Dale Bench

Roy Dale Bench, 84 years old, affectionately known as Dale, died peacefully at Heart to Heart Hospice House in southwest Fort Worth the afternoon of December 30, 2024, from pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable disease that progressively caused his lung tissue to be incapable of absorbing oxygen into the bloodstream. He was diagnosed with the disease in 2018, but it was not until May, 2024, that serious breathing issues developed. In late August, 2024, he was put on constant oxygen support. On October 2, 2024, he was admitted to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth to treat a lung infection similar to pneumonia.  He was released from the hospital on October 8, 2024, and sent home with Heart to Heart Hospice care. On Friday morning, December 27, 2024, Dale struggled breathing and was taken by ambulance to the hospice house for 24/7 medical care. He went into a coma during the ambulance transport and remained in coma until the end.

 

At home he was put on hospice support provided by Heart-to-Heart Hospice of Fort Worth.  He spent his remaining days in a plush recliner in the living room during waking hours and in bed at night.  He could not walk or endure movement due to oxygen exhaustion. Even the act of eating caused exhaustion. Fortunately, the disease did not cause pain, but morphine doses were administered during waking hours to open wide the remaining good lung tissue to help breathing. Even with constant oxygen support, breathing was a struggle.

 

Besides hospice care, Dale was managed by Edwin (Ed) Ackermann, domestic partner of 54 years. For estate legal reasons, on October 6, 2024, while Dale was in his hospital bed, they were married by Dale’s Ridglea Presbyterian Church’s pastor, Rev. Roger Harwerth. In attendance were the pastor’s wife, Brenda, Dale’s church’s music director, John E. Sauvey II, and Jared Welch, a tenor in Dale’s church’s choir.

 

Dale was born June 29, 1940, in Amherst TX where he lived until moving to Abilene TX where he started his higher education at Hardin-Simmons University. In 1961, at age 21, he joined the United States Air Force and was first assigned to Hunter Air Force Base in Savanna GA.  In 1964, he was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base on northeast side of San Antonio TX.  Dale served in the Air Force as a punched card machine operator of various IBM information processing machines.  He was honorably discharged from service as Airman First Class in 1965.

 

When he finished his Air Force tour of duty, he lived in San Antonio where in 1970 he met and lived with his partner, Ed Ackermann.  While in San Antonio, Dale finished his higher education with a masters of organ performance degree at Trinity University.  In 1982, they moved to Arlington, VA where Ed served as the Deputy Chief of Information Technology Policy for the Air Force and where Dale was an electronics salesman in a major Arlington department store and the organist for a Methodist church. When Ed resigned his job at the Pentagon after working as an Air Force civil servant for 25 years, he and Dale moved to Fort Worth TX where they founded Ackermann Studio Decorative Arts, painting interior architectural faux decoration and murals in the homes of the rich and famous from 1985 to 2004. During that studio work, Dale continued his organist career without interruption.

 

Dale took piano lessons as a child, and by age 13 he was playing the Hammond electronic organ in his hometown Baptist Church.  He remained a church musician his entire active life serving Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches as an organist, pianist, and many times also being the music director.  He was the music director and organist for the Protestant services in the two chapels at Air Training Command Headquarters located at Randolph Air Force Base from 1964 to 1982.   He served as organist for Ridglea Presbyterian Church from 1988 to September, 2024, (36 years).  In November, the church awarded him with the title of Organist Emeritus and installed a bronze plaque on the Ross King pipe organ’s console that names the organ the R. Dale Bench Memorial Organ.

 

In San Antonio, Dale served as Dean of the Alamo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) for the term 1970-1972, and after he moved to Fort Worth, he served as Dean of the Fort Worth AGO Chapter for the term 2012-2014.  He also served in both chapters as a director on their Executive Committees (board of directors), as 1971 Southwest AGO Regional Convention Chairman, membership administrator, and placement/substitute administrator. The AGO headquarters awarded Dale with a Service Playing Certification (SPC) in 2008 and with the Colleague Certification (CAGO) in 2014.

 

Dale enjoyed his hobbies:  reading books, working crossword puzzles, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune  TV programs, and, until his health declined, lap swimming three times a week at the local YMCA.  He enjoyed languages and was proficient in French, German and Spanish. In his later years, he was learning Italian.

 

Dale was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents and niece, Tashia Enloe. He is survived by his spouse, Ed Ackermann; his sister and her husband, Carol and Carl Enloe; his brother and his wife, Dan and Verna Bench; and his three nieces.

 

Friends are invited to a Memorial Service at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 11, 2025 at Ridglea Presbyterian Church.

 

In lieu of flowers, donations will be appreciated to the music fund of Ridglea Presbyterian Church, 5000 Southwest Blvd, Fort Worth TX 76116.  Website: www.ridgleapres.org (there is a donation on-line button on home page).