BENNING

T.R. Benning Jr., co-founder and chairman of Atlanta-based commercial builder Benning Construction Co. and a wounded engineer combat battalion commander in World War II, died on March 10 in that city. He was 89 and had complications from a collapsed lung, the company says.

Benning co-founded the firm in 1953 with his father and was president until 1990. The firm has about 100 employees and reported $46.8 million in 2009 revenue, according to ENR data. T.R. “Ted” Benning III has succeeded his father in that role.

According to the firm’s website, the elder Benning began his career in 1943 after graduating with an architecture degree from Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., as a project engineer on air-base construction. He was wounded on D-Day while commanding an Army Corps of Engineers battalion on Omaha Beach. Benning returned to duty as an engineer officer during the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star for his service.

Benning was a fellow and, in 1989, president of the American Institute of Constructors and also served as president and as a board member of the Georgia chapter of the Associated General Contractors. Further, he was active in the national AGC since the 1960s as well as a founding member of the advisory committee of Auburn University’s Building Science Dept. and a trustee of the American Council of Construction Education from 1985 to 1998.