It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of the adventurous, stylish, caring and determined Terezia Benson (nee Neumayer) on August 9, at Piccadilly Care Centre, Salmon Arm, B.C.
Teri was predeceased by her husband Archie Benson in 1996. She will be lovingly remembered by her only daughter, Christine (Stephen) Williams and her four grandchildren Adrianna, Emily, Joshua and Nathan.
Teri was born and grew up in Budapest Hungary as an only child with her mom. She married in 1965, briefly lived in Sweden, and they embarked on a transatlantic journey and moved to Toronto in 1967. She knew little English even less about Canada but she was ready to take on the challenge. She relocated to Burnaby and worked as a secretary for a trucking firm. At this job, she felt she was unfairly fired for union organizing so she went on a one-person protest, shut down the firm for a day, and was rehired. She later worked as a payroll supervisor for Canada Post in downtown Vancouver. She divorced and moved to South Surrey, and trained and worked as a legal secretary. In 1976, she met the love of her life, Archie Benson, and they married in 1980. In 1989 they moved to Vancouver Island and fulfilled their dream of living in a small town (Youbou) and later moved to an off-the-grid log cabin with gravity-fed water on a dirt road on Cowichan Lake. Teri’s heart was broken when Archie passed away suddenly in 1996. She continued to live in the log house and work as a legal secretary in Lake Cowichan and Duncan. In 1999 she moved to Sicamous to be closer to her daughter’s family, and she worked in property management and cleaning. She became active on her strata board and negotiated lower cable prices and taxes, and she enjoyed volunteering at the thrift store. Early dementia took hold on Teri and she was eventually placed in Piccadilly Care Centre in Salmon Arm in 2016. Unfortunately cancer took her life in one short month after symptoms developed.
No service by request. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to do so may make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society or a charity of their choice.
Christine wishes to thank all the staff at Piccadilly for their kindness and patience with Teri over the past year and a half and also for their compassionate palliative care. Thank you to Shuswap and Kelowna General Hospital staffs for their care and attention over the past month.
Online condolences may be sent to the family through Teri’s obituary at www.bowersfuneralservice.com. Arrangements are in the care of Bowers Funeral Home and Crematorium, Salmon Arm.