Phyllis Benford "Anne" Kroll

Phyllis (Anne) Benford Kroll passed away in her home on February 27th, 2026. She was 86.

Phyllis was born in 1939, the second of Frank and Anne Benford's three children in Pittsburgh, PA. A brilliant student, quick wit, and accomplished athlete, she attended Smith College and later studied nursing.

In 1961, she eloped to Miami with Alex Kroll, All-American Center for Rutgers and her childhood friend, who was playing in the collegiate all-star Shriner's Blue Gray (North-South) Game. Catholic-Episcopalian marriages were uncommon enough in their shared hometown of Leechburg, Pennsylvania and courting further scandal, they were wed in a well-publicized secular ceremony by the mayor of Miami Beach. This news occasioned considerable surprise back home-arriving, as it did, on the sports page. But the match proved to be a good one and they remained married-and still cracking each other up-until Alex's death in late 2024.

Alex and Phyllis had 3 children, Alex Jr, Michael, and Alicia. In 1972, the family moved to a house in the middle of a nature preserve in West Redding, CT. Alex would head to work on Madison Avenue before 6 and not return until nearly 8 most days, and in the hours in between, Phyllis ran the house and raised their kids-us.

She was our best teacher. She taught us about anything that could be learned from a book and everything you couldn't learn from a book. Empathy. Honesty. How to care for people. To treat everyone as equals. How to be helpful. Never a complainer herself, she instead taught us to look at a situation and ask, "How can I make this better?"

Beyond being a philanthropist, she gave generously of her time and talents. She volunteered for and later led the Mark Twain Library in Redding, helping to reimagine and reorganize their annual book fair into a massive success that drew book collectors from across the region. Her work at the Land Trust was key to helping them acquire and preserve open space in Fairfield County in the 1980s. Similarly, she lent her keenly pragmatic insight and energy to The Nature Conservancy, our middle school, Choate Rosemary Hall, and the ASPCA, much to their advantage.

In 1992, Phyllis and Alex decamped for Charlotte, VT, where she created the house and property they would call home for the rest of their lives. She took an amalgam of somewhat dilapidated structures built between the 18th and 20th centuries and turned them in a graceful and singular home that honored its own past while bringing it into the present.

Those who knew them in Vermont, knew Phyllis and Alex as the greatest hosts, the most interesting conversationalists, the most well-traveled, erudite, and funniest people you were likely to meet. They were adventurous together. They knew how to have fun together. And they were always delighted to invite you along.

In Charlotte, Phyllis and Alex were active members of the Charlotte Congregational Church, were instrumental in the construction of the Charlotte Senior Center, and significant benefactors of the Charlotte Land Trust and The Chittenden County Humane Society.

Next to her husband and children, Phyllis' great love was animals. Animals, from dogs to horses, cats, alpacas, birds, and more, responded to and were drawn to Phyllis. She famously raised and bred many champion English Pointers, some of whom lived their entire lives blissfully attached to her hip.

Phyllis was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2020, and over her last years depended more and more on the help, kindness, and understanding of others. Having spent her whole life offering those things to everyone around her, this frustrated her deeply. But over time, she found some peace in it and she passed surrounded by the love and beauty she had cultivated in life. With her at the end were her children and grandchildren, as well as her devoted caregivers and beloved Pointer, Charlie.

And while we are heart-broken to have lost her, we are consoled by the fact that she and dad are back together on the next adventure.

A memorial service will be held on May 9th at 11:00 am at the Charlotte Congregational Church.