Irene Della Maynard Benson Griffith, 96, went peacefully in her sleep to her heavenly home on January 26, 2020. She was born January 7, 1924, to Della Brooker Maynard and Robert Maynard in Presque Isle, ME. Irene graduated from Presque Isle HS and attended training in Rome, NY. As a young adult she moved to Stuttgart, AR where she was a devoted housewife and mother, and employed by Stuttgart Shoe Corp and Riceland Foods. She most recently lived in Decatur, TX at Governor’s Ridge Retirement and Assistant Living, where she earned her title as Ambassador and friend to all.
Along with her parents and her five siblings, Irene was preceded in death by husbands, Bennie Allen Benson (1947), Roger Lee Benson (1970), and Hughey L. Griffith (2010); two sons, Stephen Benson and Roger Lee Benson, Jr.; daughter, Debra Benson Jenkins; and two great-grandsons, Jacob Sawyers of Searcy, AR, and Garett May of Coldwater, MS.
She is survived by Charley Benson (Rita) of Little Rock, AR, and two daughters, Sharon Benson Smith (Jackie) of Rhome, TX, and Charlene Benson Skelton (Jimmy) of Coldwater, MS, as well as 13 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Turpin Funeral Home on Friday, January 31, at 2 p.m. with visitation one hour before.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Irene’s memory to First Christian Church in Stuttgart, AR or First United Methodist Church in Decatur, TX. www.turpin-co.com
