Obituary: Morris L. Benatar

Morris L. Benatar, 58, passed away unexpectedly after surgery complications.

Morris was born in Atlanta to Louise and Leo Benatar. He and his loving wife, Diane Lourie Benatar celebrated 33 years of marriage in August. Morris was proud of, and is also survived by, his two children, Leah, 28 Gordon (David), Counselor and Steven, 25, in medical school. Additionally, he is survived by his two sisters, Ann Silver (Mike) and Ruth Falkenstein (David) in Atlanta; brother-in-law, Alexander Lourie (Mary Beth) in Chicago; and nine nieces and nephews.

The closeness of the extended family was evident by enjoying family vacations at least every other year including cruises, dude ranch, Caribbean islands and resorts – 17 recently enjoyed a barge trip in the South of France in July. In 1965 the Benatar family moved to Belgium, and Morris, aged 8, became fluent in French, having attended Lycee de Anvers for a number of years.

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Morris graduated from Lakeside High School in Atlanta, Graduated from University  of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with honors and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary Society for outstanding students and Tau Epsilon Pi, a social Fraternity. He also received his MBA from Darden School of The University of Virginia. Upon graduation from UVA he worked for Hammermill Paper Co in Erie PA, then was transferred to Boston as General Manager of the distribution unit.

Wishing to return to Atlanta, he accepted a marketing position at Kimberly Clark and after a few years was recruited by Georgia Pacific as marketing manager of their paper towel division.  Riverwood Packaging offered him and his family an opportunity in Bristol, England to be marketing manager for Europe.

The family was there for approximately 4 years and the company was subsequently sold and he and his family returned to Atlanta. Shortly thereafter in 2008 Morris joined Greater Southern Home Recreation, a home recreation business, where he was President of the Retail Stores selling pool tables, shuffleboards, theater seats, bar stools and other home recreation items.  In approximately 2012, he and his father bought the retail business and currently operate two stores in Greater Atlanta.

Morris was a sports enthusiast since childhood, where he played baseball.  He was an avid Georgia Tech sports fan and attended all home football and basketball games and some away games when possible, including bowl games. Morris was involved in the community with the Crohns and Colitis organization and very active in OrVeShalom synagogue, where he was a past president and long-time board member. He was also active in The Cohen Home and a past President. Morris and Diane were also honored by Israel Bonds for their community activities.

Aside from his business acumen, he was well known for his love of his family, Jewish religion, community activities, avid dog lover and a person recognized for his concern for the welfare of others.  He was truly a great and caring person.

Sign online guestbook at www.edressler.com. In lieu of flowers, any contributions should be sent to Congregation OrVeShalom, 1681 N. Druid Hills Rd, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319; or CCFA, 2250 N. Druid Hills Rd. NE, suite 2250, Atlanta, GA 30329. Graveside services were held Friday, September 23, 2016 at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, with Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.