Mary Ellen Benson

Mary Ellen Benson died September 9, 2020 at 845AM at Glen Rose Medical Center in Glen Rose, Texas.  Aunt Mary contracted COVID two weeks ago during a rehab stay for a broken hip incident that occurred in June of this year. The staff at Glen Rose Medical Center was superb in every respect and they told us that she was quiet and comfortable when she passed.

She was 80 years old and was the last of eight siblings including four brothers and three sisters. Mary was active in her Hot Springs High School, Class of 1958. She attended baseball and other ball games with classmate Carolyn Harris. She enjoyed attending her brothers’ and sisters’ high school reunions.

Aunt Mary was one of Ben’s favorite Aunts who would always bring him something about Braniff or the airline industry when she would come to visit from her longtime home of Chicago, Illinois. For Christmas one year, she found an antique book written in 1939 about Juan Trippe, Pan Am’s founder. This book is still in Ben’s collection of airline and aviation books and it has housed a letter that his Dad wrote him from Washington DC, in 1974, when Mr. Cass was a key witness during the Watergate Trials. Ben said this book was the best that anyone had ever given him and he will always remember his Aunt Mary when he sees the book.

Aunt Mary was an accountant by trade and became a Comptroller for United Airlines in the 1960s and then held various financial and accounting positions at other aviation entities and was second in command at Seaway Steel also of Chicago. She moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she worked for Ben at his flight school as his accountant during 1988 to 1990. She moved back to Chicago and then returned in 1994 to begin caring for her 87-year-old Mom who had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She remained in Hot Springs until she and Ben’s Mom moved to Granbury, Texas, in June of last year.

Because of COVID there will not be a funeral. She will be buried next to her other family members in Hot Springs.

The family wanted to thank all of for your support and kind words during this difficult time.

Mary is survived by numerous nieces and nephews as well as grandnieces and grandnephews. She was in touch with her special and long-time friends from Chicago, namely Paula and Lois.