Marion Bench

Marion R. Bench

Marion R. Bench, neé Mulligan (Enright) of East Hampton, a pioneer among women in personnel management and one of the first Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in the U.S. Navy, died on December 18 at La Jolla Nursing and Rehab in La Jolla, California. She was 99.

Born in Larchmont, she graduated from Manhattanville College in 1933 and became associated with the real estate management firm of Brown, Wheelock, Harris, Stevens in New York City until the outbreak of World War II. She was one of the first WAVES chosen and was sent to Washington, D.C. as an assistant to Mildred McAfee. She was commissioned a lieutenant junior grade on August 4, 1942—the day the bill was passed creating the WAVES. She selected 90 percent of the first 1,000 women to be sent to Officer Training Schools.

In January 1943 she was assigned USN lieutenant commander liaison officer between the Bureau of Naval Personnel and the Congress, Senate, White House, Secretary of the Navy in connection with appointments and assignments of male officers. She was discharged on September 1945 with the rank of lieutenant commander, USNR.

In October 1945, Mrs. Bench became an administrative assistant to Norman Bel Geddes, and part of her duties were to supervise and manage production of the model photographic history of “The Battle of Midway” for the U.S. Navy. In addition to supervising personnel and managing the firm, she worked with Mr. Geddes in decorating LaRue, Barberry Room and the Persian Room. She later managed the E. E. Brooke Placement Agency until in 1949 when she became office manager for the law firm of Chadbourne, Parke until she retired in 1957.

Mrs. Bench was a member of the Law Office Managers Association; an instructor at the Practicing Law Institute on personnel techniques; the first woman officer of the N.Y. Personnel Management Association; and wrote articles on personnel.

Mrs. Bench moved to San Diego, California in February 1994 and lived at Wesley Palms in Pacific Beach until February 2005 when she moved to La Jolla Nursing and Rehab.

Mrs. Bench was predeceased by her husband, Edward C. Bench, and two brothers, Deacon Bob Mulligan and Arthur Mulligan. She is survived by several nieces and nephews. Funeral services at the Water Mill Cemetery in Water Mill will be private. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Sacred Heart Church in Ocean Beach, CA.