Benno Franz Kollegger

Benno Kollegger embarked on his final journey within the Universe. His was a peaceful passing in the comfort of his home with his and his wife’s “animal kids” and Lynda and Chad Zirlott in Coden, Alabama on September 6, 2022. Benno was looking at a painting he made back in the 70s entitled “Down the Heavy Waters” depicting a Viking style wooden boat moored, peaceful and waiting, below a waterfall. Benno leaves behind his wife and fellow traveler in the world, Regina Doi-Kollegger, in Coden, Alabama; sons, Christian Kollegger of Connecticut and Andreas Kollegger in Malmö, Sweden; four beautiful grandchildren, Alexander, Madeline, Elizabeth, and Octavia; sister, Helga Kollegger who lives in New Paltz, New York; nieces, Evelyn and Heike; other relatives, and friends. Benno’s journey began in 1942 at St. Bartholome, in the southern Alps of Austria where he helped his family with the farm Rutzmüschtl, cared for Lipizzan horses at the Brendl, and wandered across the lower Alps. His formal art training began in the Barnbach Haupstshule where he met his first wife, Helga Maurer. Benno served in the Austrian Military Service and discovered a love of flying that he would carry for his lifetime. Benno and Helga moved to America with their knapsacks and a song, arriving first in Queens before settling in Greenwood Lake, New York. Benno worked as a machinist for the Brodie Company where he honed his mechanical and creative problem-solving skills. He became an in-demand machine tool specialist for German and French companies. Benno was a founding member and design force for Essex Research and Development, which advanced multi-axis lathes. As such he traveled the United States and indeed the larger world, his work taking him as far north as St. Johns, Canada and as far south as Suriname. He loved the problem solving aspect of working with industrial machines, which in his hands could even become creative tools. Every free moment, anything at hand could become art; his lifelong pursuit. His time in NYC found him a part of the Jamaica Arts Council through which his art shows and sales had him cross paths with Jacqueline Onassis and Michael Landon. Wherever he lived he became a member of the local arts and promoted the creativity of others as much as, if not more than, his own work. Through his love of art and community, Benno met Regina, an equine artist in the Mohawk Valley, New York. Benno and Regina shared their creative energies with a loving public and close friends in Galway, New York and the Southern Adirondacks. The lure of the seas, where he spent years sailing, led Benno and Regina to Mon Louis Island, Alabama, where they settled along the marshes and bayous with their horses, dogs, and cats to continue their love of art and community. Benno’s paintings are part of private and public collections around the world, including Greenwood Lake, Saratoga Springs, and Little Falls, New York, Mobile and Dauphin Island, Alabama, and the Parliament Building for the Chancellor of Austria. The Kollegger family would love to hear memories and fond thoughts of Benno you are willing to share. Rather than a memorial service, we think Benno would love to be remembered while visiting an art gallery, walking on a beach at sunset, or saying a kind word to a stranger. A celebration of Benno’s life and his art will occur this spring at his and his wife’s recent dream, a gallery and art teaching space at what they call “The Twig,” the former Zirlott Grocery Store and Oyster Shop along Heron Bayou. We look forward to seeing you there.

Tributes

Benno Franz Kollegger

November 26, 1942 - September 6, 2022