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Cheryl Benz Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Cheryl Benz
Janell Agyeman
July 14, 2007
To Steve and your lovely children:
Akwasi, my sons and I extend our heartfelt sympathies to you upon the enormous loss of your charming mother. She reached out to me at some point--possibly when we realized we were, quite literally, neighbors in addition to central committee volunteers at the Miami Book Fair International.
Our relationship was not close but it was warm. As you may remember, she invited us to your home one Sunday for dinner, and we will never forget it. She didn't at all mind including us vegans in the mix! Plus, you all were gracious and helped us enjoy your beautiful indoor and outdoor space, and we were grateful.
This may seem like such a simple act to hang a memory on, but it meant a lot to us. Cheryl was rare in her DEMONSTRATED appreciation for people of differing cultures and backgrounds, and I mourn her passing. I also celebrate her life!
God bless you, always.
Janell Walden Agyeman
Susan Choy (Piga)
July 5, 2007
For almost five years Cheryl and I, together with good friend Pat Nation, were office mates at MDCC Wolfson campus. In fact, Cheryl was the first person I met when I was initially hired as full-time instructor in the ESL department. I remember being astonished by her clear green Alaskan eyes, and immediately reassured by her infectious giggle. We became friends instantly, and ended up sharing more laughter than professional discussions about texts, methodology, etc. - even though Cheryl loved those exchanges, too. Cheryl and I also shared a love of dance, and we took a few ballet classes together with Reina Welch, who was also a beloved member of our ESL department. As always, during dance class we laughed at each other, at our half-hearted attempts at serious grace and class. Although I appreciated Cheryl's serious academic side, and learned so much from her workshops (she then referred to herself as the Workshop Queen),the Cheryl I knew and loved was playful, fun and sometimes even mischievous. For example, because she fondly remembered the morning when, standing nervously together in the MDCC elevator on the occasion of the swearing in of the new MDCC president, I dropped a baked potato I had brought for my lunch onto the president's polished black shoes, she gave me Mr. Potato Head for my birthday, never letting me forget the day I made the president giggle almost as much as she did. Although I suspect Cheryl didn't show that side of her much, she really enjoyed it when the status quo was broken, when the boat was rocked, and friends and collagues were just a little bit irreverent.
I talked to Cheryl a few weeks before she died during a long phone conversation in which we reviewed our many shared memories, and then thanked each other for...well, for the laughter, I guess, although Cheryl didn't use those words. In fact, she said, "Thanks for helping me all those years, Susan. " which I found both unbelievable and ridiculous since she was the one who had helped me. But Cheryl always had a hard time accepting praise, even though she deserved it more than anyone I know. Yes, Cheryl was hardworking and industrious, but more importantly, she was loving, sweet, kind, thoughtful and impossibly generous. She will always be in my heart.
Suze Lindor
June 30, 2007
Gone too soon, Cheryl! Cheryl, one of a kind, has left a void in TESOLERs lives, especially in mine. As my mentor on the Sunshine State TESOL Board, Cheryl has left a BIG void in my life. Although I would have had big shoes to fill in, had she completed her term on the Board, I was proud to be in line to succeed her. Unfortunately, she was gone too soon from the Board due to her illness. I could have been a better President for SSTESOL had Cheryl completed her term because she was grooming me one step at a time.
Gone too soon, Cheryl! Your absence in the TESOL profession will be sorely felt but your name will live on forever. Your contribution to your chosen field of work is your legacy to the world and will go on for years to come. You will never be forgotten!
You shall be missed.
Rest in peace!
Jonnell Agyeman
June 30, 2007
I bring warm greetings from the Agyeman family of Miami. I can't even recall precisely how I met Cheryl, but I suspect the Miami Book Fair International played a part. I worked as a general volunteer before I joined the board of directors, and I known that she and I chatted often during the committee meetings. She found out I worked in book publishing and told me about Steve's literary work; I told her my husband was also a professor at MDC (North), and eventually we discovered we were
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Oneyda Paneque
June 30, 2007
To Cheryl's family and friends,
There are few words to say that really console in these difficult moments. However, it is important to know that Cheryl was loved by many including those who didn't even know her that well. I was one of those who didn't interact with Cheryl that often by was touched by her enthusiasm and joy of living.
She will always be remembered.
Teresa Lucas
June 30, 2007
Even among those of us who never met her, Cheryl's spirit lives brightly, inspiring us to contribute to a better world in whatever way we can.
Silvio Rodriguez
June 30, 2007
You are in my thoughts and prayers. Cherly was a very special colleague to know and work with. The Benz family was always in our covervations and I looked forward to them.
Ozzie Lopez
June 30, 2007
I will always remember Cheryl as a loving, selfless and giving human being. She symbolized what I always like to call a true professional who will always be missed by all of those who had the honor and pleasure to have known her. No hay suficientes palabras en ninguna lengua para expresar la tristeza que sentimos aquellos que tuvimos el honor de haberla conocido como colega y como amiga. Ozzie
Meribeth Shank
June 30, 2007
I'm holding you in my heart.
Helen Connell
June 30, 2007
I am very sorry for your loss.
Karen Callaghan
June 30, 2007
I am very sorry for your loss.
Corey Mass
June 30, 2007
I was on the departmental committee at MDC that hired Cheryl back in 1990 and she never let me forget it. She always told me how my questions were the best. It wasn't true, of course, but that was Cheryl: always giving you a good word, even about something from years past.
Whenever I saw her office door open, which was often, I always dropped in for a chat. She loved talking about what her husband Steve was doing, and the accomplishments of her children..... We batted around suggestions for improvements to our program, our instruction, textbooks, but I was always amazed at all she achieved because, if you were ever in her office, the piles of papers, textbooks, projects, photos and stuff were enough to sink a ship. I don't know how she ever got it all in order when she moved to Georgia.
Cheryl and I managed to keep in touch on the phone, by email, and especially at TESOL conventions around the country. My last face-to-face meeting with her was at the convention in San Antonio in 2005, where she took enough time from her busy schedule to sit down and have lunch with me. The photo of that occasion, with both of us at the table, is precious to me. Ann Roemer and I also got to share a dinner with Cheryl at a great restaurant along the Paseo del Rio one evening. We didn't get too drunk, and I think Cheryl managed not to drink her famous diet sodas for once.
I spoke to her on the phone for the last time a semester ago when I somehow caught her in her office at GPC. The departmental secretary was very protective of her time, but when Cheryl heard it was me, she immediately got on the phone. That's how she was. Friends were important even in the midst of all her problems.
I miss and will miss her always.
Eric Dwyer
June 29, 2007
This was shared on the FlSST list serve.
I passed on Cynthia's words about Cheryl to folks in other TESOL realms, and I'm receiving messages worldwide now, including Thailand and the UAE. Cheryl was known around the world, she herself being a round-the-world TESOLer in every sense of the profession. We see her work in her life in Guatemala, Moldova, and Saudi Arabia, just to name 3 places of many where her work took her.
She was also instrumental in giving the community college ESL programs a name and a voice in our profession. (Cynthia has also been a strong advocate, as have numerous Florida folks--a hallmark of this state in this realm of our profession).
She was often not only the organizer of our regional conferences and symposia, but she basically did everything, including the contacting of guest speakers, garnering venues, figuring out presentation schedules, and word processing the programs. Such work included several Miami events, newsletters, Southeast Regional TESOL, and of course Sunshine State, which she chaired even after having left the state for Georgia. For some time, she operated as a one-person band, but she happily gave credit to all folks in the community. She was nice that way, but we have to admit that she was the spark and the glue for promoting our profession in Florida a good ten or so years ago. Even last year, she was a team leader for the national conference in Tampa.
If you go to amazon and type in her name, you'll see her authorship and editorship on a number of books. And my understanding is that she has one or two about to come out. Even in these last days, she was working.
Friends tell me that in their final visits, she asked them about TESOL and their lives. Such was Cheryl. She always asked us about research, and I remember so fondly one evening in 2000 when the TESOL Quarterly article by Averil Coxhead on the academic word list came out. She, a few other colleagues, and I were so excited--Cheryl particularly brimming with glee over this contribution.
She helped me understand the importance of language brokering. The more I learn about it, the more I find it a critical topic, and I have Cheryl to thank for taking me to that conversation. She was always like that, starting a writer's group in Miami and continuing with another one in Atlanta.
She is one of the few people to ever not be a member of the TESOL Board of Directors who received the James Alatis service award for the profession--pretty much the highest award one can receive in the Association. At the presentation of this award in Long Beach in 2004--and just following her diagnosis--she explained the reason she was wearing a hat, and then reminded us to buy raffle tickets since doing so would enable some graduate student somewhere in the world a chance to attend TESOL. Just so funny, and yet so gracious! And she received a standing ovation like I have never seen at TESOL conferences.
I can't stand the idea that she's gone. I'm sure there are many of us who wish we could attend the reception today in Atlanta. As soon as we have information on such a memorial here in Florida, we'll get that info out to folks.
For those of you who knew her, I hope you'll send missives along the listserv. I'd be pleased to print any out (with your permission) and send a bundle to the family. I know it'd mean a lot to them.
For those who know other recently passed TESOLers with equally important but somehow more hidden roles in the organization, I hope you'll share with us their moments and their contributions.
And for those of you new to the listserv who may not have had the chance to meet Cheryl, I hope her story inspires you somehow to understand how incredible our profession is. She loved her students, and they loved her. And well, we . . . We have Cheryl, her infinite infectious smile, and all her contributions to treasure.
Lee Culver
June 29, 2007
Cheryl was an admirable person in every sense of the word. She inspired each of us in the ESL Dept. at MDC Wolfson with the many things she did for the Dept., the College, and the greater TESOL community. All the while, she managed to take time to spend with her family and bring up her kids. She invited us, as her colleagues, into her family on a number of occasions when she hosted faculty gatherings in her home. Cheryl was a giving person and even made homemade preserves for us from her Starfruit tree one year. Most of all I remember a road trip that Cheryl made with Ann Roemer, Cynthia Schuemann, and me to attend the TESOL Conference in Orlando several years ago. Cheryl's special humor and presence were essential to make that trip the enjoyable experience that it was. I will always have fond memories of
Cheryl and the ways that she touched the lives of others.
Miranda Childe
June 29, 2007
June 29, 2007
My colleagues here at Miami-Dade College have already said much of what I would have said. Cheryl was unique. She had the generosity to co-present with me at my fist League for Innnovation conference in 2000. She "knew the ropes" and gently guided me through the process. Despite my nerves, the presentation was a success mostly because Cheryl knew how to smooth our the wrinkles. After that, I went on to make many more presentations alone, but Cheryl was always with me in spirit.
It is a tragic loss to our profession and the multitudes of people whose lives she touched. It seems so cruel for one so young to be taken in the prime of her life. I can only imagine the mountains Cheryl would have scaled in her mature years. Her energy was prodigious. I remember walking by her office at many different times of day, and she was always there - "office hours" meant nothing to her. She would often stay until midnight,even come on weekends. She would work tirelessly, most of the time so absorbed in her project that she forgot to eat. I used to scold her for that. "You need to eat to keep up your strength.", I would say in an effort to take care of her. She always took care of others but not herself.
When I read that Cheryl had died my first thought was that like so many great people, Dr. King, Princess Diana, Bobby Kennedy, she lived her life at top speed - trying to get it all in within the limited time she had. Like many of those famous lights that went out way too soon, Cheryl will always shine for us in her prime. She will remaim forever young in our memories. That is a blessing in a way, don't you think?
My heart goes out to Steve, Rachel, Nate and Steve, Jr. I will be sending good thoughts into the universe for Cheryl's peaceful rest and for you all to have the courage to accept what cannot be changed and to continue her legacy though your actions.
With much love and condolences,
Patricia Nation
June 27, 2007
Cheryl has touched so many lives in so many ways. Having shared an office at MDC with Cheryl for several years, I was always inspired by how she lived life both professionally and personally. From nurturing the growth of each student…to sharing her creativity with colleagues…to contributing so much to the college and the profession…to raising three exceptional children…to renovating her home…and to opening that home to friends and colleagues, Cheryl always gave her all…and always with a smile. When Cheryl left MDC to become chair at GPC, she was fulfilling a higher purpose. She always had a higher purpose in life. In trying to rationalize the hows and the whys Cheryl could be taken from us so soon, the only explanation is that God has a higher purpose for her. When Cheryl left our college, the department gave her a plaque which says, “To Teach is to Touch a Life Forever”. It should say, “To Be Cheryl is To Touch a Life Forever.”
Gail Hawks
June 26, 2007
Cheryl didn't teach in my department, and our paths didn't often cross but when they did it was always a most pleasant experience. She had a personality that was genuine and that made her so very special in our hurried and plastic world. So she would stop and say hello because her father in law was the College President in Ohio where I had graduated as an undergraduate and we often used this as our opening to conversation.
Cheryl and I earned an Endowed Chair in the same year and we had occasion to see each other more because of this. And in each occasion she was always joyous, energetic, filled with loving stories of her family, whom she adored. I was always touched by how eager she seemed to be for every moment. Filled with excitement for the next class, the next activity, the next family endeavor. She was so alive here at Miami Dade and I remembered feeling truly sad to hear she was moving to Georgia. I knew we were losing someone special.
I was more profoundly saddened when I heard she was battling cancer. How sad for all of us to loose her light, and how difficult to understand the "why" of it. Yet I have faith to believe that Cheryl is spreading her love and joy and sincere humanity wherever her spirit now resides. Her many acts of kindness are not lost, nor forgotten, nor is she, a teacher extraordinaire, a smile, a colleague, and a friend. Thanks for sharing in my life, if only for a little while. Peace.
Cynthia Schuemann
June 26, 2007
You’re invited to a remembrance gathering for dear friend and colleague Cheryl Benz.
When: Saturday, June 30th, 2007
Time: 11:00 – 12:30
Room: 3208-09, Building 3000 on the Second Floor
Place: Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Avenue, Miami, Florida
You may park in the student parking garage using the 5th Street entrance. Print this email, or let the parking attendant know that you are there for an ESL faculty reunion event.
Please also visit Cheryl’s guest book at: www.legacy.com
We may share some selected commentary from the guest book at the gathering.
Feel free to forward this invitation and guest book link to friends and colleagues you think may appreciate it.
Kathy Sands-Boehmer
June 25, 2007
I had the pleasure of working closely with Cheryl on the development of her textbooks published by Houghton Mifflin Company. She was a diligent and enthusiastic collaborator who transformed linguistic pedagogy into user-friendly and interesting materials. She had an excellent sensibility about what would and wouldn’t work in the classroom. She never did things halfway and her attention to detail was inspirational and much appreciated by this overworked editor.
In addition to enjoying every opportunity I had to work with Cheryl, I so loved her as one of the most genuine human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Our editorial meetings always went longer than originally planned because we would inevitably start chatting about our kids and what was going on in our lives. Even throughout Cheryl’s long illness, she would continue to ask me about “my” life and when our ESL list moved to another publisher late last year, she is one of the few authors out of 100 or more who continued to stay in touch. She understood the loss that I experienced with the transition of moving from a decade’s worth of editorial blood, sweat, and tears into a new field. We did our best to console each other on this sudden change in our publishing life together. I treasure all of my memories of Cheryl and offer my sincere condolences to her family.
Elizabeth Ramsay
June 22, 2007
The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.--William Wordsworth
Cheryl was a friend, colleague and mentor to me in the Department of ESL at Miami Dade College. When we first met, she was finishing her dissertation at FIU. Awards and distinctions followed in quick succession from that point. She was featured in newspaper ads for our College, she won an Endowed Chair, and she was a sought-after panelist and presenter at International TESOL. Cheryl was known far and wide for her brilliance as a scholar, researcher and teacher, but that’s not why her students loved and admired her, and that isn’t why she’ll always stand out in my mind as someone who helped shape, not only my career, but my character. She had a love of learning and a generosity of spirit that lifted everyone around her. When I look at my own professional accomplishments, there are traces of Cheryl’s encouragement behind each one. Still, Cheryl affected more than my career, she was the example of kindness. One semester during final exams, I stopped by her office to ask for advice, and as always, she took time out to help. In the course of conversation, she invited me to her home for Christmas dinner. I had lost my mother to cancer earlier that year, other family members were spread out and spending the holidays with in-laws, and I’d broken up with my boyfriend a couple of months earlier. I truly had nowhere to go. I don’t think she had any of that in mind when she invited me, it was just the kind of graciousness that characterized her life. Cheryl was the kind of person who could save someone’s Christmas in the course of an ordinary day. She accomplished great things and was loved by many, not because she desired admiration, but because she was good to others and was happy and kind as part of her everyday life. I’m so glad I knew Cheryl.
Brad Stocker
June 20, 2007
I wrote this for our department newsletter at Miami Dade College and I wish to share it here:
Collegial Remembrance
I see from the TESOL Program Book that a colleague I haven’t seen for a long while has several presentations. I circle her name. I’ll be sure to see her in one of the sessions.
I run into Maureen at her poster session. I tell her that our old friend is here.
No she isn’t – I’m told.
“YES, she is, “ I insist. “Her name’s in the program!”
“No, she is in hospice care,” wrenches my heart.
I stop Cynthia passing through the lobby. A hug and a kiss later, we sit. Tell me what’s happening?
“Yes, it is true. Would you like to sign a card.”
The first words out of the pen, “I owe you…”
Imagine. Desperately seeking language, midst a language conference, in the loud lobby, people passing by unaware of the deep emotions twisting mind and heart, attempting to tell a dear colleague everything that has been carried inside for years, trying to compress it into a few concise words, onto a card and accurately convey feeling and meaning. The first words are: I owe you…
What do I owe? I owe a coffee, a dinner, a smile, a hug, a call, a card, an email, a thanks, a hello, a goodbye.
I owe a copy of my dissertation. I had intended to toss it into the suitcase. She had been on my doctoral committee and I never gave her the traditional copy. More importantly, she had supported using a qualitative design – against the tide of the other minds. She critiqued the first draft, the chairperson’s duty, not hers. Shared all her resources, held my hand, listened to my desperation, insisted I dry my tears, sit down, and write. She modeled help for an arduous task. I could pass it on to another. She has inspired me.
I owe lines on my resume. She has allowed me to co-present, and has helped me prepare proposals and my own presentations. I have seen her face in my audience, smiling her support, toward my podium. Even though there was nothing new for her in my words, she was there as a big sister would be. I have felt her familial care.
She has taught me about ESL praxis, research, and theory through conversations, in her papers, in her feedback and responses to my questions. I have been welcomed to her insights. I have never been rejected from the classroom that has been her presence. I have been embraced.
She has shared. She has never been competitive with me. She has encouraged my professional growth. It is cliched yet true – she has practiced what she has preached. She has taught me through herself, being herself. She has given me her teacher’s love. I have it inside me.
I have owed her the thanks that a student always owes his teacher. I owe her the knowledge that she has contributed to my transformation as a human, that I carry her in my soul, in my mind, in my heart, and into my classrooms.
Here is the remembrance I owe:
You have taught me, Cheryl.
.
Cynthia Schuemann
June 19, 2007
To make a donation to the student scholarship fund at Georgia Perimeter College, here are the specifics:
Write check to:
The GPC Foundation
In memo write:
The Cheryl Benz Scholarship
Mail to:
The GPC Foundation
Attention: Erica Hart
3251 Panthersville Road
Decataur, GA 30034
If needed, the Foundation phone number is:
(678)891-2559
The tax ID# for exemption is:
58-1660133
Or you could mail your donation to:
Steve Benz
P.O. Box 103
Pine Lake, GA 30072
*******************
*******************
Joan Pearson (Danforth)
June 18, 2007
I remember when Cheryl moved to University Place from Alaska. She became my friend and a sister Girl Scout. Cheryl was always full of ideas, happiness and energy. My heart goes out to her family during this time of loss.
Mary Anne Lyman
June 18, 2007
I'm so sorry for this loss.
Keri (Kramer) Matthews
June 16, 2007
Cheryl and I were friends in school and through Girl Scouts. Though I have seen Tooky and Bob more in the last 20 years, I would have loved seeing Cheryl. We always had fun and I will remember her as smiling, laughing, and bouncy with energy. My thoughts and prayers are with her entire family.
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