Luis Benites

Luis Benites Dubeau, age 93, passed away on Friday, December 8, 2017 in Gaithersburg, Maryland surrounded by his family. Luis was born in Cherbourg, France to a Peruvian Navy officer and French mademoiselle. He is survived by his long-time partner and best friend Nelly, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Luis was raised in Lima, Peru and studied architecture at the Universidad de Ingenieria of Lima. His passion, however, was centered around books and reading. He was an avid reader and owned two renowned avant-garde café bookstores in Peru during the 1970’s called Beni Books. Years later he came to the United States and worked at the budget office of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington D.C.

Luis had the chance to travel extensively throughout France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and many other countries in Europe and Latin America spending many months enjoying art museums, cafes and bookstores. He was fluent in Spanish, English, Italian and French. He had a natural dancing skill, which made him the winner --along with his long time partner Nelly--of a tango contest coordinated by the Organization of American States (OAS) in the 1980’s.
Luis, Lucho, or “papapa,” as he was lovingly called by his five grandchildren, was also a talented chess player and had the opportunity to play in a simultaneous chess game with world champion chess player Anatoly Karpov.

“Papapa” was an affectionate and caring father and grandfather and most recently spent long hours a day with his only daughter Rosana. He will be terribly missed by all who loved and admire his great intellect, sense of humor, and kindness.