Robert "Bobby" Benjamin

Robert Andrew Benjamin of Solon, Ohio passed away on August 24th, 2024 of pancreatic cancer at the Hospice of the Western Reserve in Euclid. He was 71 years of age. 

Bobby was born on November 12, 1952 in New York to Roger Eugene Benjamin (1925-2016), a commercial real estate developer, and Jill Segel Benjamin (1922-2017), a painter and engraver. 

The family left New York City for Saint Paul, Minnesota, then moved to the Cleveland area in 1955. First to Euclid and University Heights, before settling in Beachwood in 1964. Bobby graduated from Beachwood High in 1970, and during this period became a talented musician. His bachelor of arts degree, with a major in religion, was earned at Tufts University in 1974.

Upon returning to Cleveland, Bobby performed as a bass guitarist and vocalist in bands that played throughout the region. He joined the celebrated local rock group Breathless, formed by his high school classmate Jonah Koslen, and from 1978 to 1981 the band, managed by Belkin Productions, toured nationally and made two albums with EMI-America Records. 

Following a number of years in Los Angeles, in 1989 Bobby settled in Cleveland and became a commercial real estate broker. He first worked for the office led by his father, the M. H. Hausman Company, established by his mother’s uncle Morris H. Hausman, which for a time merged with Samuels and Associates of Boston. From 2000-2022 he joined Hausman alumnus Randy Goodman in his firm Goodman Real Estate Services Group. He played a leading role in the leasing of Legacy Village, the lifestyle center in Lyndhurst, and was also instrumental in securing new locations for the Rural King farm and home stores. He later became an independent broker, and began a new venture in tableware design prior to his untimely passing. 

Bobby’s career entailed a remarkable transformation, from a rocker to conventional business and family man, though he was too liberated to ever be deemed bourgeois. He always maintained his devotion to music, and continued to hone his songwriting and recording skills in a home studio. He also enjoyed jogging and keeping fit, and was an enthusiastic reader. 

Lively, playful, bright, and outspoken, with a sharp and irreverent wit, Bobby was a thoughtful and devoted son, father, husband, brother, friend, and colleague who shall be sorely missed.

He is survived by his beloved: his son, Anthony Benjamin, and wife Rebecca Pereira; his daughter, Veronica Smith, and husband David Smith; his son, Aaron Benjamin; his wife, Dionne Percy Benjamin; her daughters, Ravonne Haywood and Dionna Blackmon; and his brother, James Benjamin.

Contributions in his name can be made to The Jewish Federations of North America, 25 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY, 10004 or Hospice of the Western Reserve,17876 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland, OH 44110.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY MAY CALL at the Brown-Forward Funeral Home, 17022 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44120 on Monday, August 26 from 5 to 7 PM.  A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, August 29 from 1 to 2 PM at Brown-Forward followed by a reception (location to be determined).