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mother's name was Margaret J. Benson. She always insisted on signing anything
legal that way. But nearly everyone knew her as Peggy. To Ted, Carolyn
and I, she was and always will be "Mom".
She lived the first half of
her life in or near Attica, Indiana, mostly on a farm near the small town
of Independence. The second half she lived mostly in Frankfort, Indiana,
except for about three years that she spent in Cary, North Carolina. She
had been living in Plainfield, Indiana for just one year when she passed
away on November 26, 2006. She was very proud of being "independent",
and was still living in her own apartment until a month before her death.
Mom was sweet and gentle, and
very humble. She never wanted to "trouble" anyone, as she would
say. She loved the big band music of the '30's and '40's, especially Glenn
Miller and Benny Goodman. She also loved the old classic films, and Jimmy
Stewart was her favorite actor. Until a few years ago, she was always
cooking, sewing and doing needlepoint. She also took great care of her
big spoiled cat, the one and only Lucy. |
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Mom
was also always a big fan of her kids and grandkids. For years she
would go to see Ted's bands play, and would often be seen on the
dance floor. When she was in North Carolina, she became the "official
band Mom" of the band that I was in at the time. We often played
outdoors at parties and events and she would bring her lawn chair
and listen to every song. In the early days, when I was very young,
we had an old pump organ, and she would pull out her sheet music
and play through her favorite songs in the afternoon. She was always
proud of the fact that we got our natural musical abilities from
"her" side of the family.
The picture collages
on the following pages were done by my brother Ted Benson. He scanned
and enhanced over a hundred photos to construct these panels which
were then shown at the visitation we held in Attica following Mom's
death. The first pages feature photographs of Mom's parents, Ted
and Katie Means, as well as other relatives. On the second page
you'll find Mom's beautiful senior picture from Attica High School.
If you knew our mother,
we hope that you will enjoy these photos and also hope that they
will stir some great memories for you. |
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