Willodene Eugenia Benner

Benner, Willodene Eugenia
Passed away peacefully at the family home on March 5, 2011 at the age of 86. Willodene was born September 10, 1924 in Jasper, Alabama to Eugene and Ruby Waldon; she was the second sibling of the marriage. Her family moved to Arizona when Willodene was a small child. She attended and graduated from Phoenix Union High School and attended Northern Arizona University for two years and during the summers she attended summer school in Corvallis, Oregon. During WWII she was a WAC, discharged December 1945. After her discharge she returned to Arizona State University graduating with a degree in teaching. While at Arizona State University she met her future husband, George F. Senner, Jr. They married, moved to Tucson where Willodene worked to put Mr. Senner through the University of Arizona Law School; they had two sons, George F. Senner, III and Gregg Eugene Senner. In 1961 George F. Senner, Jr. was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the Third Congressional District of Arizona, and lived the life of Camelot in Alexandria, Virginia where they raised their children. In 1975 the Senners divorced and in 1988 Willodene met and married Wallace K. Benner and was married to him until his death in 1991. Willodene belonged to the Assistant League of Phoenix and School Bell. Willodene adored assisting children with learning difficulties and those who came from families with many needs. She enjoyed teaching the younger grades, teaching them to read phonetically. Willodene received two masters degrees from Arizona State University, one in elementary education and one for special needs children. For six years, Willodene took care of Gregg who had been diagnosed with cancer, Gregg passed away in 2007. Shortly after her youngest sons death, she moved in with George Frederick Senner, III. She was inflicted with Alzheimer's and Essential Tremors that made her bed-ridden. Hospice of the Valley assisted her son, George F. Senner, III, to the last days of her life. Willodene donated her brain to Alzheimer's Research Center through Dr. Patricio Reyes to assist the medical profession in their quest for treatment of Alzheimer's. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Research Center in care of Dr. Patricio F. Reyes, at Regions Hospital, 640 Jackson St., St. Paul, Minnesota 55101.