Obituary: Mildred Virginia Benham March 2, 2019

MILDRED VIRGINIA BENHAM March 2, 2019
 
Millie “Sissy” Virginia Belcher Benham passed away gently, surrounded by family on March 2, 2019. 
 
She is survived by husband Loyal (Ben), sons Tom and Jeff, daughter-in-law Bev, cats Heidi and Brindle, sisters Marilyn, Margaret, Carol, Diana, and Penny, brothers Chuck and David, and a myriad of Belchers, Benhams, and others to whom she was friend and mom. She was preceded by her brother Sam.
 
It was her great joy to care for others. She was always there to help out with advice or freshly baked cookies. From an early age, she cared for family members: siblings, children, pets, parents, extended family, or those extending the meaning of family. Millie’s decades of volunteer work included schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and nurseries, doing everything from meticulous cleaning and scrumptious cooking to PTA Presidency to running her own nursery to caregiver for premature babies and the elderly.
 
Millie was working for the phone company in Vegas when she met Ben.
 
The two married in Gibraltar after Ben’s work shipped him to Spain. Over the next fifteen years Millie always made sure they had a house that was a home as they (and the boys, dogs, and VWs) moved throughout America before settling in White Rock for 42 years.
 
After Ben’s retirement, Millie, Ben, and the cats traveled extensively in their motor home, with a special affinity for the Colony of Avalon in Newfoundland where they sponsored numerous archaeological students. Millie also compiled more than a hundred albums of family history. Later in life, Millie struggled with Lewy Bodies Dementia.
 
A small ceremony was held for family in Guaje Pines Cemetery. Flowers are appreciated or a donation may be made to the Colony of Avalon Foundation, Friends of Bosque Del Apache Wldlife Refuge, or Friends of Las Vegas National Wldlife Refuge.
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