Samuel J. Benicase

Samuel J. Benicase, known to family and the Kingston, New York community simply as Sam, died on September 25, 2026, at his home in Kingston at the age of 95. Unlike many figures remembered on this site, Benicase was not a national celebrity. He was a lifelong Kingston resident whose long working life and decades of quiet community presence made him a familiar and respected figure in Ulster County, and his passing has been marked by the kind of local tributes that follow a life fully lived in one place.

Born on March 25, 1931, in Kingston, Benicase was the son of Frank and Susan (Amato) Benicase, one of a large family of siblings. He came of age in the years after the Second World War and, as a young man, answered the call to serve his country. He joined the United States Air Force in 1951 and served until 1955, when he received an honorable discharge at the rank of staff sergeant, a period of service that shaped the discipline and steadiness that those who knew him later described as central to his character.

After leaving the military, Benicase built his career in local banking, an institution at the heart of mid century American small town life. From 1957 to 1977 he worked at Kingston Trust Co., rising to the position of assistant treasurer and branch manager. He then moved to Rondout Savings Bank, where he worked as head teller from 1977 until his retirement in 2007, a career in finance that spanned exactly half a century. For many in Kingston, Benicase was the familiar face behind the counter, the man who processed deposits, answered questions and kept the books straight across two generations of neighbors.

Benicase's life was also anchored by his family. He married Lorraine Finnerty on August 21, 1960, and the couple remained married for nearly sixty six years until her death on March 18, 2026, just months before his own passing. Together they raised three sons, Jeffrey, Stephen and Alan, and in later years the family grew to include seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren. He was a longtime parishioner of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Kingston, a faith community that was part of the fabric of his daily life.

No public cause of death has been announced. Benicase passed away at home, and his family's obituary notice gives no further medical detail, in keeping with the private nature of his final days. His death came just over six months after that of his wife, and the family's notices suggest a household that, after more than six decades together, was not apart for long.

News of his death prompted tributes from the local Kingston community rather than national coverage, reflecting a life measured not in headlines but in decades of steady presence at a bank counter, in a church pew and among a close, extended family.