Gladys Caroline Frazier Benbow

BENBOW WINSTON-SALEM - Gladys Caroline Frazier Benbow, of Durham and Winston-Salem, NC, died on February 2, 2011. She was born on December 25, 1915, in Taylorsville, NC, the daughter of Calvin Luther Frazier and Biddie Margaret Caroline Chapman Frazier. She is survived by her husband, Lyle Johnston (Pat) Benbow of Durham and Winston-Salem. Gladys grew up in Statesville and Winston-Salem, where she graduated from RJ Reynolds High School and was vice-president of her class. A dance student of Jacqueline Dormany, Gladys traveled to New York City to live at the Dancer's Club, where she studied ballet with George Balanchine, worked with the Rockettes, and modeled for the John Robert Powers Modeling Agency. Tapped by Twentieth Century Fox to promote the film Moulin Rouge, she toured the country as a starlet with an entourage of film stars, landing in Hollywood where she was hired by Twentieth Century to make a film with actor Eddie Cantor. After a stint in Hollywood, Gladys returned to Winston-Salem. As one of the first women in radio in the state, she wrote dramas, sang, and starred in her own radio programs, among them an advice show for women called "The Lynn Davies Show" at WAIR radio station. NC audiences heard Gladys's lovely contralto voice when she sang with the John Peddycord Orchestra. In 1939, Gladys married Lyle Johnston Benbow (Pat), the son of Winston-Salem attorney Frank B. Benbow and his wife Fannie Martin Benbow. A member of Centenary United Methodist Church and the Twin City Club, Gladys volunteered with the Girl Scouts and worked at the Forsyth County Heart Association, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, and WSJS radio station, but her primary interests always lay in the arts. As a young woman, Gladys studied creative writing at Salem College and acted with the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. Passionate about the importance of learning languages, she lobbied state and local officials to add more foreign language training to the public school curricula. Later in life, she volunteered as a docent at the Sawtooth Center for Visual Art in Winston-Salem. Gladys was a proud charter member of The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and continued to be their enthusiastic supporter throughout her life. An amateur painter who studied with local artists, Gladys was also an avid reader, a life-long worker of crosswords, and an ardent tennis and basketball fan. She and her husband Pat reveled in their trips to Europe. Gladys deeply loved the British Isles, especially the Highlands of Scotland from which her family came to the States in the 18th century. Gladys is survived by her husband of 71 years, Pat; daughter Dr. Pamela Frazier Benbow of Hillsborough, NC; daughter Marcia Benbow O'Neal, and husband Mark, of Durham, NC; and grand-daughters Lyle Michele Bass of Durham, NC, Patricia Caroline Bass of Charlotte, NC, Elizabeth Addison Benbow-Bass of Lakeland, FL, Jessica Laurel O'Neal of Morgantown, WV, and Dana Elizabeth O'Neal of Boston, MA. Surviving are also many loving nieces and nephews and other Frazier and Benbow relatives. A private service for Gladys' immediate family was held at Forsyth Memorial Park. Gladys requested that gifts of remembrance be sent to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. You can reach the NMWA at 202-783-7989 (Development) or online at http://www.nmwa.org/support/donate.asp. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh.com.