Marguerite Gage Benedict

Marguerite Gage Benedict, 82, longtime Oak Harbor resident, died at Whidbey General Hospital Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004.

Mrs. Benedict was born in Conklin Forks, N.Y., Sept. 9, 1921, to Claude Gage and Rosanna (Cline) Gage. She grew up in Conklin Forks and graduated from Binghamton North High School in 1940. Marguerite met Harold Benedict, “who was on boot leave from the Navy,” in 1940. The couple was married Dec. 24, 1941, in Norfolk, Va.

They traveled in Navy duty on the East Coast, including Florida, Rhode Island and North Carolina, but primarily in Norfolk, Va. Harold was transferred to Whidbey Island in November 1958 and was honorably discharged in 1960. Marguerite was employed as an office clerk at the Navy Exchange for 10 years. In 1979, she and Harold began traveling, spending their winters in Yuma, Ariz., and making numerous trips to the East Coast to visit relatives and home to Oak Harbor for the summer. She was a member of Whidbey Presbyterian Church, the Ladies Auxiliary of Fleet Reserve and Oak Harbor Senior Center, where she volunteered in the boutique and also enjoyed many hours of playing pinochle with her many friends.

Marguerite is survived by two daughters, Linda Lockwood and Barbara Benedict, and her “favorite son,” Harold J. “Ben” Benedict, all of Oak Harbor; two grandchildren, Kevin G., Tinker and Garrett Benedict, both of Oak Harbor; one great-granddaughter, Teisha Tinker of Meridian, Idaho; two sisters, Evelyn Ellerson of Whitney Point, N.Y. and Kathryn Hawley of Binghamton, N.Y. Additionally, she also leaves behind many beloved nieces and nephews living in the East. She was preceded in death by her husband Harold in 1988 and by her brother Marcus Gage and sister Barbara Darrow.

A memorial service will be Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004, at 1 p.m. at Whidbey Presbyterian Church, Pastor David Templin officiating. Private inurnment will take place at a later date at Maple Leaf Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 4414 Woodland Park Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103. Arrangements by Burley Funeral Chapel.