Sheila Benner

Sheila Benner 1935 – 2022 BRUNSWICK – Sheila Benner, 86, joined God and her heavenly family on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. She was born in Friendship, Maine, March 14, 1935, the daughter of Lewis Lowell and Irma K. Winchenbach Benner. She was born in her great-great grandparents’ home, attended by both her grandmothers, and by Dr. Fred Campbell of Warren. Her dad was in the Coast Guard at the time and made it his career for many years. She traveled with her family to Massachusetts and Florida during World War II, returning to Friendship when she was in the 6th grade. She graduated from Waldoboro High School, Waldoboro, Maine. in 1953. Sheila married Donald Wood in Friendship on June 8, 1953. Donald was in the Air Force then and she followed him to many interesting places for the next 17 years. They finally settled in South Harpswell after his retirement. Her own career was quite diversified through the years until she finally retired in the 80’s to care for her parents and maintain two homes. She sold her home in South Harpswell in March of 1998 and moved to Mallard Pond Apartments in Brunswick. In the 1940s, Sheila had joined the Methodist Church in Friendship and was very active until leaving to join her husband in Turkey for two years. After their retirement and move to Harpswell, she became more involved in the Brunswick Methodist Church, eventually joining their Respite program. She so enjoyed the people she cared for, involving them with music, art work, exercise, bingo, and even some cooking sessions. It was a joyous time in her life, but became too difficult to continue after five years. Sadly, her church family seemed to fade away. She enjoyed writing, knitting, and sewing until she was declared legally blind in 2013. Still having adequate narrow and low vision, her passion turned back to her work in genealogy. She also enjoyed crossword puzzles and Solitaire games every day on the computer, certain that these activities kept her mind sharp and challenged. Genealogy research led Sheila to discover a range of interesting things about her family. There were many Mayflower descendants on her maternal side and many royal houses of Europe on her paternal side. The work gave her many hours of fascinating discoveries, and was still in progress when her earthly time was up. Sheila was predeceased by her father in 1990 and both her husband and her mother in 1993. Her granddaughter, Jennifer Elaine Van Natta, also passed away in June 2010 in Wisconsin. She is survived by a daughter, Elaine J. Van Natta, and husband Richard of Wisconsin, a sister, Laraine Hadley and her husband James living in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also survived by her grandson, Eric Lane Van Natta of Wisconsin, two nieces, Sarah and Eliza, and an ever-dwindling number of cousins. A graveside service will be held 9 a.m. Thursday, April 21, 2022, in the Maine Veterans Cemetery, Civic Center Drive, Augusta. Memories and condolences can be shared at http://www.brackettfh.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.