Eugenia (Morgan) Benner

KITTERY – Eugenia (Morgan) Benner passed away peacefully at the age of 96 on Feb. 3, 2022, while a resident of Durgin Pines Nursing Home in Kittery. Eugenia was born on March 17, 1925, in Portland, to parents Herman John Wesley Morgan and Neleah (Clark) Morgan.She graduated from Deering High School with the class of 1942 where she became an accomplished violinist, later playing in the Portland Symphony Orchestra, several string quartets and trios, and her local churches including the First Baptist Church of Portland, Maine and the White Mountain Chapel of Conway, N.H. She married Richard Edwin Benner of Rockland with whom she had six children. They lived in Portland until 1963 when the family moved to Ossipee, N.H. and later to Freedom, N.H.Several years after the death of her husband, she married Edward J. Dolan of Conway, N.H. In her later years, she lived in York until health issues necessitated her moving to Springbrook Nursing Home in Westbrook, and later to Durgin Pines in Kittery. At various times she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper, eventually retiring in 1990. Her personal interests included playing the piano, photography, art, reading, collecting postcards, crafts, poetry, X-C skiing, tennis, and traveling. While in Portland, she served as Pioneer Girl Chairman at the First Baptist Church and in Conway she taught typing and square dancing for the Adult Continuing Education program and Sunday School at the White Mountain Chapel. Her personal Christian faith was important to her. Her joy in life came from her “firm belief that God loves all of His creatures and is patient and loyal through all of life’s twists and turns.” She is predeceased by her husbands Richard Benner and Edward Dolan; her daughter, Sylvia Baker; and her sister, Phyllis Schade. She leaves behind five children, daughter Sheila Holt and husband Leighton of Barrington, N.H., her son, Rick of Kittery, and daughters Bonnie Benner of Exeter, N.H., Melanie Quinlan and husband Stephen of Peru, Ind., and Kim Merrigan and husband Tom of St. Petersburg, Fla. She also leaves behind seven grandchildren, Heather Totty of Barrington, N.H., Bradley Holt of Richmond, Vt., Karissa Hammer of Dunedin, Fla., Daniel Baker of Lithia, Fla., Allison Ventrice of Somerville, Mass., Mariele Ventrice of Portland, and Jack Merrigan of St. Petersburg, Fla.; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. A memorial service will be held in the spring. Burial will be private in Brooklawn Memorial Park. Lucas and Eaton Funeral Home, in York is assisting with arrangements. Visit http://www.lucaseatonfuneralhome.com.