Merrill Douglas Benson

Dr. Merrill Douglas Benson, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, and renowned physician/scientist, passed away on Saturday, September 11, 2021, at the age of 83.

Born in Richford Vermont to Leonard John Benson and Grace Maud (McAllister) Benson, Dr. Benson graduated from the University of Vermont School of Medicine as a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society. While at UVM, he met the love of is life, Marlene Ann Aldo, and the two began their 54-year long life together.

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Merrill and Marlene relocated their family to Indianapolis in 1976 to help found the Rheumatology Division at Indiana University Medical Center, and Merrill created and led the Rheumatology service at the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Administration hospital. As a respected physician, Merrill brought compassion and relief from pain and suffering to countless patients of all ages, races, religions, and walks of life. As a professor, he trained scores of residents and fellows to do the same. Merrill was also an internationally revered biomedical researcher who labored his entire professional life to understand and treat amyloidosis, a deadly disease that afflicts uncounted thousands across the globe, and in its hereditary form stalks and kills entire families. His tireless labors in the laboratory over decades culminated in the creation of the first drug, Tegsedi, capable of saving the lives of those afflicted with hereditary amyloidosis.

At home, Merrill was a devoted husband and father of four children, all of whom owe much of their success in life to his example of quiet service, tireless work ethic, and respect for the dignity of all people. He never forgot his roots as a modest Vermont dairy farmer and personally nursed his gardens and trees to a bountiful harvest each year. He kept and cared for Morgan horses and taught his children the importance of stewardship for all of God’s creatures and for the land on which they live.

Merrill is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Marlene, his sister Wilma, and his brothers Donald, Robert, and James. He is survived by his children, Douglas (and wife Linda), Kara (and husband Sean), David, and Jeffrey, and by his grandchildren, Connor, Julia, and Aidan, as well as numerous extended family. His family and friends will celebrate his life in a memorial Mass at St. Monica Catholic Church on Friday, September 17, at 11:00 am. The family will receive visitors at the church one hour prior to the Mass.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Amyloidosis Research and Education Fund, Indiana Foundation Account Number 0320002916, c/o Sally Atcheson, Van Nuys Medical Science Bldg room 128, 635 Barnhill Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46202.