Obituaries

School Namesake Truman Benedict Dies

The iconic San Clemente mayor, superintendent and principal succumbed to cancer, the SC Times reported.

The iconic Truman Benedict of San Clemente died Wednesday, the San Clemente Times reported:

The father of two, grandfather of four and great grandfather of five called the Spanish Village by the Sea home for 63 years, arriving in 1949 to take a teaching job at Las Palmas Elementary. He was predeceased by his wife Betty Jean Benedict, who died in 1989.

The World War II fighter pilot and star high school basketball player would go on to serve his community as a principal, superintendent and mayor, and San Clemente shared its affection by naming one of its elementary schools for him.

The in Benedict's honor. Rising through the ranks of the district, he served as superintendent from 1969 to 1975. 

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Benedict was known to show up in his later years at the , said Trustee John Alpay, who lives in San Clemente. The students wouldn't always know who he was, but they figured he was somone important.

Read more: San Clemente Times - Former Mayor Superintendent of Schools Succumbs to Cancer

Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

— Penny Arevalo contributed to this report.


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