Vera Mae Frances Benedict

Vera Mae Frances Benedict (nee' Marquart) was born May 9, 1936 in Washington, MO to Leonard and Catherine (nee' Voss) Marquart. Surrounded by the love of her family and dear friends, Vera passed away on Sunday, November 2, 2025 in Washington, MO at the age of 89 years.
Vera grew up in Washington, MO where she attended St. Francis Borgia Grade School and graduated from St. Francis Borgia High School. Vera was united in marriage to Harrison Benedict Jr. on September 29, 1956 at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church. The couple made their home in Fort Worth, TX while Harrison was serving his country in the United States Air Force. After his time in the service, the couple moved to Washington, MO in 1959 to make their home. Their marriage was blessed with four children.
Vera worked as a grocery store clerk for many years. She began her career working at Kroger and later at IGA grocery stores. She retired from her career at the grocery store in 1983 and began selling Avon. Vera became a very accomplished Avon Ambassador and won numerous vacation trips and national awards for her achievements in sales. She was the recipient of the Avon President's Award numerous times over the course of her career, which spanned over 40 years. Vera loved her career with Avon because she loved meeting new people and making lifelong friends with her customers and colleagues.
From the time they started their life together, Vera and her husband loved spending time with their family. Their most favorite thing to do though was go camping at Lake of the Ozarks or Bennett Spring State Park - so much so that they purchased a pop-up camper. Family driving vacations with the children included trips to Colorado, New Mexico, Fort Worth, TX, Washington, DC and Florida. In the early 1970's power boating was added to the things that Vera and her family enjoyed, and most summer weekends were spent on the Missouri River either teaching family and friends how to water ski, or roasting hotdogs on a sandbar. Everything that her children and grandchildren love to do is because she taught them.
When Vera became a grandmother in 1989, she began babysitting her grandchildren during the day and loved being able to spend so much time with each grandchild. As the grandchildren grew older and started school, Vera and Harrison made sure that they traveled to every sporting event possible, cheering them on from the sidelines. Vera loved taking road trips in their motorhome to visit flea markets. Her and Harrison spent a lot of weekends selling Avon and other products at the Mason Flea Market in Union, as well as the Wentzville and Rutledge flea markets. When the grandchildren became old enough, Vera and Harrison enjoyed taking them on summer motorhome trips to Pigeon Forge, TN, Mooresville, NC, and Branson, MO to name a few. In 2020 Vera became a great-grandmother. She lit up when a great-grandbaby was around and loved interacting with them so much that she would even get down on the floor to play with them if they asked.
Vera was a lifelong, active member of St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Washington. Her faith was very important to her and she relied on it heavily after Harrison's passing in 2023.
Vera was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 67 years, Harrison Benedict Jr.; her parents, Leonard and Catherine Marquart; parents-in-law, Harrison and Ruth (nee' Barbarick) Benedict; step-father-in-law, Chesley Thompson; three sisters: Ruth Marquart, Judy Noelke (late husband Marvin), and Mary Jane Marquart; and one sister-in-law, Catherine Thompson (late husband Leonard), and brother-in-law Dale Parmentier.
She is survived by three sons: Dale Benedict and wife Jill Shelton of Washington, Jeffrey Benedict and wife Tina of Marthasville, and Kurt Benedict and wife Leesa of Labadie; one daughter, Debra LaBoube and husband Dennis of Berger; seven grandchildren: Katy, Kelly, Erica, Kaitlyn, Jeffrey, Lindsy, and Karlie; five great-grandchildren: Leah, Harper, Knox, Conley, and Augustus; two sisters: Dorothy Wright and husband John of Chesterfield and Laverne Hellebusch and husband Carl of Olathe, KS; two brothers: Leonard Marquart and wife Micki of Washington and Gary Marquart of Washington; sister-in-law, Jean Parmentier of Washington; along with nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Washington. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.
Memorial visitation for 89-year-old Vera Benedict will be held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Monday, November 10, 2025 at Oltmann Funeral Home in Washington. A parish rosary will be held at 3:30 PM on Monday at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or St. Francis Borgia Church.
The Benedict family is served by Oltmann Funeral Home in Washington, MO.