Joseph Dwayne Benda, 85, of West Concord, MN, died Saturday, October 16, 2010 at his home. He was born September 20, 1925 in Gregory, South Dakota the son of Harry and Pearl (Hinton) Benda. He was raised on a ranch in Lyman County near Iona, SD. In 1934 the family moved to a farm in Ellington Township, Dodge County, MN. He was baptized at Rice Lake Church, attended rural school at District 15 and graduated from Owatonna High School in 1943. During 1945 and 1946 he did Lay Preaching fulfilling pulpits at Methodist Churches in Blooming Prairie, Lansing, Geneva and Ellendale where he met his future wife. In April 1947 he was united in marriage to Barbara Paustian in the Ellendale Methodist Church. They moved to a farm in Ellington Township where he farmed until retirement and where they lived to the present. He was active in Owatonna Methodist Church and later West Concord United Methodist Church where he served as lay leader, Board Chairman, adult Sunday school teacher, youth group advisor and on many committees. He was employed at Josten's, Inc. for 25 years while continuing to operate the farm. He was President of Local 1416 of International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers at Josten's, served as the mediator for the State of Minnesota during the farm foreclosure crisis in 1985, volunteered for 20years for Dodge-Fillmore-Olmsted (DFO) Community Corrections serving as victim-offender facilitator and served 3 years as Chairman of the DFO Advisory Board. Dwayne was an accomplished horticulturist with expansive rose, lily, perennial and annual gardens flourishing in every season. He was dearly loved by his family and respected by all who knew him. He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Barbara Benda of West Concord; children, Robert (and Joani) Benda of Ft. Worth, TX, Joy Roth of Winona, Susan (and Tom) Keel of Rochester, Merrilee (and John) Hamerlinck of St. Cloud, Debra Benda of Eagan, Craig (and Mary Jane) Benda of Kasson, Mark (and Jodi) Benda of West Concord, Steven (and Angela) Benda of Kenyon, Terry (and Sheila) Benda of West Concord, Holly (and Shawn) Busby of Mantorville; grandchildren, Heidi Benda, Sarah Roth, Nicholas Roth, Ryan Keel, Andrew Hamerlinck, Geoffrey Hamerlinck, Barbara Castonguay, Jason (and Laura) Benda, Cortnie Benda, Brooke (and Levi) Ranvek, Mallory Green, Dillon Benda, Hunter Benda, Mariah Benda, Megan Benda, Slade Benda, Ethan Benda, Joshua Benda, Derek Benda, Arianna Winkle, Edward ReMine, Samuel ReMine; great grandchildren, Dorian, Parker, Jaeger, Floyd, Rosie, Logan; sister, Donna Wavrin of Mabton, WA. Dwayne was preceded in death by his sister, Dorothy Menzies; son-in-law, Andy Nelson; grandson, James Keel. Visitation will be at Michaelson Funeral Home, West Concord on Monday from 6pm to 8pm and at United Methodist Church, West Concord on Tuesday from 12pm to 1pm. Funeral services will be held October 19, 2010 at 1pm at United Methodist Church, West Concord with The Reverend David Westlake officiating. Interment will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Owatonna. Memorials are preferred to the United Methodist Church of West Concord, American Diabetes Association or to the donor''s choice. Visitation: 10/18/2010 18:00 10/18/2010 20:00 Service: and one hour prior to the service at the church. 10/19/2010 13:00