Raymond Templin Benson was born on August 25, 1894, in Primghar, Iowa. He was the son of Justus Andress and Anna Belle Templin Benson. In 1912 he entered the Iowa National Guard and served both on the Texas border in 1916 and in France during World War I. He graduated from Iowa State College (University) with a B.S. (1919) in animal husbandry. At Iowa State he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho.



Through the 1920s and 1930s he worked as a farm mortgage appraiser and manager. In February of 1942 he was assigned to active duty and became Director of Supply of the Transportation Corps near New Orleans, where he served until he was promoted to Colonel in 1947 and left active duty. He moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia, to return to appraising mortgages. In 1954 he was transferred to the retired reserves. He played a large role in Civil War Centennial activities and served as an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg. He died on August 21, 1977, in Harrisonburg, Virginia.