Mary Jane Godlove

Incomparable wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend; dedicated to sharing her strength and her gifts without hesitation; brimming with curiosity; inspired gatherer of trivia; avid reader and zealous traveler; powerful advocate; unique spirit with a fierce affection and a joyful enthusiasm for life. One remarkable lifetime and yet so much more.

Mary Jane Godlove passed peacefully on the morning of October 2, 2025, embraced by the eternal love of her family who will hold tight to countless memories we created together in her all-too-brief 75 years.

Mary Jane was born in Woodward, Oklahoma on November 29, 1949, to Mary Isabell (Young) and Garner Temple Benbrook. Temple doted on his first-born for many obvious reasons, of which a remarkable resemblance to her dad was likely one. Descending from a family deeply-rooted to the early history of the State of Oklahoma, she loved accompanying her father on treks to the "cow pasture", as she referred to those treasured expeditions. Mary Jane and her brother, Bruce, also accompanied her mother on frequent train trips, returning to Indiana and Kentucky to visit extended family. She loved outings to the family bank where the cashier frequently had to remind Temple to "top up" his daughter's account. The adventure of travel and the delight in new surroundings were well-established from Mary Jane's earliest years and created the wanderlust that was an integral feature of her life.

Mary Jane continued the family tradition of attending Oklahoma State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in May 1972. She met Jim on the OSU campus in November 1969, and they were married in Woodward on August 7, 1971. They moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1973 where Jim began a decades-long career with Phillips Petroleum Company. Their first child, Brian, was born in Bartlesville on January 3, 1975, to be joined by Becky on January 27, 1977. Mary Jane participated in a myriad of church, social, and community activities. And then, there were trips interspersed with Jim and the "kiddos" to her family's cabin at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado. As time passed, our family's bond with Estes Park, which began for Mary Jane in 1959, became even stronger as job transfers made the YMCA of the Rockies feel more like our family's home rather than a vacation destination … truly a magical "thin place" where Heaven and earth appear to touch.

In the early 1980s the family relocated to Vernal, Utah and then Salt Lake City, Utah before settling in northern Virginia where Jim was assigned to Phillips' Washington DC office. It was in Fairfax, Virginia, that Mary Jane re-established firm roots once again. With two very active children - church, school, sports and community activities occupied an ever-increasing amount of her attention. In 1996, once again, Phillips offered an opportunity to work and live in Australia. With a measure of reluctance at first to leave her friends and college-aged children, Mary Jane thrived in Darwin … Australia's Outback and the most remote part of the continent. New friends, diverse cultures and boundless travel adventures made the next six years pass much too quickly before returning to Fairfax once again in 2002.

After returning "home" to the USA, travel continued to be a central theme for Mary Jane. She joined several of her Woodson High School "band-ladies" on numerous annual journeys abroad … so many in fact, Jim once asked American Express … "just where is she?" With Jim's retirement in 2008, Mary Jane insisted that he join her on even more far-flung cruises and land treks from Alaska to the Amazon, St. Petersburg to Tahiti, Egypt to Peru, and Ireland of course, now that there was unlimited time for those adventures.

In every life there are brilliant high points and occasional challenges. Watching Brian and Becky mature into incredibly responsible adults, each with wonderful lives and careers, was a blessing. Brian's marriage to Pamela Smithson in 1999, followed by the births of our grandchildren, Brooke in 2005 and Carter in 2008, were moments of pure joy and Mary Jane flourished in her role as "Gigi", bringing unlimited love and support to her grandchildren. This joy was tragically interrupted by Brian's death in 2015. Some things in life should never happen and the loss of such a wonderful son, brother, husband and father was a trial. But strength of character, resolve, and resilience stand out as a tribute to Mary Jane.

Mary Jane is survived by her husband Jim of Fairfax, Virginia, daughter Rebecca Godlove of Los Angeles, California, daughter-in-law Pamela Godlove of Fairfax, Virginia, and granddaughter Brooke and grandson Carter also of Fairfax, Virginia. She is also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Sheryl Benbrook of Woodward, Oklahoma, brother and sister-in-law Ernest and Jane Godlove of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and sister-in-law Susan Godlove, of Lawton, Oklahoma and by many nieces, cousins and innumerable friends.

Mary Jane's family and friends are invited to a celebration of her life at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church, 8617 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, Virginia, 22003 at 11:00am on Saturday, October 18, 2025. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent in Mary Jane's memory to the YMCA of the Rockies, 2515 Tunnel Road, Estes Park, Colorado 80511.

A smile as beautiful as an Oklahoma sunset; a shining example of all the goodness possible in a single human being; a sure and steady comfort to everyone she touched; an inspiration to more than we may ever know … the perfect love of our life. Truly, Mary Jane has been a special gift in our lives and our memories of her will carry us and sustain us forever.