Phyllis L. Benham, 97, of Reinbeck, Iowa, died Friday, March 10, 2006, at Parkview Manor in Reinbeck. Funeral services will be 10:30 A.M., Monday, March 13, 2006, at French Hand Funeral Home in Reinbeck, with Pastor Randy McGrady-Beach officiating. Burial will follow at the Reinbeck Cemetery in Reinbeck. Visitation will be Sunday, March 12, 2006, from
2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. at French Hand Funeral Home in Reinbeck, where the family will be present to greet friends. A memorial fund has been established.
Phyllis was born May 16, 1908, in Hudson, Iowa, the daughter of Edward C. and Wynona (Knight) Schuknecht. Phyllis graduated from Reinbeck High School in 1925, and then attended the Iowa State Teacher's College in Cedar Falls. On March 20, 1942, Phyllis was united in marriage to Guy E. Benham in Cedar Falls. Phyllis was a teacher, and taught at the rural Dinsdale school, until it closed in 1965. She then transferred to Traer, Iowa, teaching there until she retired in 1976. She and Guy were members of Amity Presbyterian Church, where she had been choir leader there for a number of years. Phyllis had also served as a Girl Scout Leader in Reinbeck for a period of time. Upon retirement, she and her husband Guy loved spending time outdoors. They spent their summers at their trailer in Lake City, Minnesota, where they enjoyed fishing there and also in Canada. Phyllis and Guy also spent their winters in Texas. They renewed their wedding vows on their fiftieth wedding anniversary in Texas. On July 27, 1996, Phyllis' husband Guy died, and she continued to make Reinbeck her home.
She is survived by her son Douglas Knight Benham and his wife Jean of Stoughton, Wisconsin; one sister Vivian Schuknecht of Reinbeck, Iowa; two granddaughters Janelle Bricker and her husband Randy of Pensacola, Florida; and Valerie Benham of Stoughton, Wisconsin; one great-grandson Brandon Nordstrom and three great-granddaughters Allie, Hannah, and Lydia Bricker.
Phyllis was preceded in death by her parents and her husband Guy Benham.