Maria Benson

DUNEDIN, FL -- Maria "Mimi" Margaret Benson, age 94, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2025 in Dunedin, Florida. Mimi was born on September 1, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan to the late Paul and Matilda (Mattson) Lempio. Mimi moved with her parents to various small towns in Lower Michigan before resettling in the Detroit area with her family. She graduated from Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan, going on to graduate from Wayne State University in Detroit where she earned a Bachelor's Degree. She later earned her Master's Degree at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Mimi married N. Conway Benson of Dearborn, settling with him in the Detroit area. Because of her husband's work reassignments, the couple and their growing family eventually relocated to Metuchen, New Jersey; Springdale, Pennsylvania; and, finally, Lima, Ohio. Mimi moved to Florida after the couple's divorce, where she continued her lifelong work as a public school teacher and educational administrator. Over the course of decades, she had a tremendous impact on thousands of students with her kindness, positivity, enthusiasm, and encouragement before finally retiring from the Pinellas County Schools system. She relished meeting her former students all grown up, even if she didn't recognize them - at first. In a lovely coincidence, the head of nursing at her final residence, The Cedar at Mease Life, was a former student of "Mrs. Benson."

Mimi was an extremely active volunteer in whatever community she found herself, and she was always deeply involved with her neighborhood and the local schools, not only as a parent but as a volunteer. She dedicated countless hours to mentoring local youth, teaching English as a second language, helping out at the local senior centers, and more. Her commitment, compassion, and selflessness made a lasting impact on everyone she worked with. A lifelong learner, Mimi was constantly enriching her mind through travel, by reading widely, taking classes, and joining different groups that piqued her interest. She loved the performing arts (opera, theater, dance, classical and pops concerts) - and one of her choice anecdotes told how she once cut her evening college classes to hear Sarah Vaughan perform live at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit. Moreover, she was a very social person - Mimi's door was always open, both literally and figuratively, and as the saying goes, "she never met a stranger."

In her spare time, she was a superbly inventive baker (like her mother), who delighted in presenting family and friends - well, anyone! - with the cookies and cakes that were her specialties. She was also a much appreciated whiz at creating the Finnish specialties that reflected her cultural heritage, especially pasties and nissua. An expert crafter, crocheter, knitter, and sewer, she designed beautiful jewelry, throws, scarves, hats, and so much more - almost always to give away as gifts. A very talented pianist, Mimi was supremely musical, inheriting that gift from her Sibelius-loving Finnish father, a house painter who was also a multi-instrumentalist (violin, xylophone, you name it). Mimi could sight-read practically any song or piece of music at the piano, a gift that made her the center of attention at any party she graced.

Mimi will be dearly missed by her loving children, Kenneth Conway Benson (Richard Alan Brokaw) of New York, NY, and Arvilla "Belle" Jane Catharine (Michael James Hageman) of New Port Richey, FL; her grandchildren, Mary-Margaret Jenkins of Fort Wayne, IN, and Elizabeth Marie Jenkins-Bail (Molly Jenkins-Bail) of Columbus, OH; and her great-grandson, Adam William Blakey, Jr. of Fort Wayne, IN; as well as by many other extended family members, friends, and of course, the countless students whose lives she touched.

Along with her parents, Mimi was preceded in death by her brother, Paul S. Lempio, and her daughter, Christine Maria Jenkins.

Memorial donations may be made in Mimi's name to Doctors Without Borders (MSF: Médecins Sans Frontieres): https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org.