Casey Benning

Casey Benning, 41,

passed away on December

3, 2019. Mass of Christian

Burial will be held at

11:00 a.m. on Saturday,

December 7, at St. Mary’s

Catholic Church, 806 E

Broadway, Bismarck. Visi-

tation will be held from

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Fri-

day, December 6, at St.

Mary’s Catholic Church.

A rosary/vigil service will

begin at 6:00 p.m.

Casey Lynn was born

on August 10, 1978, in

Williston, ND, to Mark

and Debbie (Bowers) Hil-

leren. Her first years were

spent in Alexander, ND.

When Casey was two, her

parents divorced, but that

brought her dad, Evan

Lynch, and stepmother,

Cheryl (Lervick) Hilleren

into her life.

Casey grew up in

Williston and graduated

with honors from Willis-

ton High School in 1996.

In addition to being at the

top of her class, Casey

also harbored an amazing

ability for music. She

played the saxophone in

pep band and jazz band,

and she was active in her

high school choir and jazz

choir (which led to a

choir trip through Eu-

rope). She also loved to

play the piano and had

the most beautiful voice,

which she showcased at

local talent and variety

shows when she was

younger and then at wed-

dings for friends and fam-

ily later on.

After graduation, Casey

moved to Bismarck, ND,

to attend the University of

Mary, where she graduat-

ed with a major in busi-

ness in 2001. On February

15, 1997 (during her

Freshman year), Casey

went on a first date to a

winter formal where she

and a young man by the

name of Ryan Benning

danced to Take My Breath

Away. Four years later, on

September 1, 2001, she

and Ryan – the love of

her life – danced to that

song again during their re-

ception after they were

married at the Cathedral

of the Holy Spirit in

Bismarck.

After working in the

banking industry for

several years following

college, Casey decided to

pursue a career she was

more passionate about,

and in 2005 she received

a Masters Degree in Occu-

pational Therapy.

Although Casey loved

working with her patients

and felt such joy when

helping others, she

worked as an OT for only

a short while before she

found her true passion:

her family.

In 2007, Ryan and

Casey welcomed their

first son, Ryder, into the

world, soon to be fol-

lowed by brothers Chris-

tian (2008) and Grayson

(2010), and finally their

beautiful baby girl, Lon-

don (2011) arrived to

complete their family.

From the moment Casey

became a mom, she knew

what her calling in life

was. She always said she

was good at a lot of

things, but the one thing

she was truly great at was

being a mom.

Casey’s greatest accom-

plishment was her chil-

dren, and since 2007 she

selflessly put every bit of

energy into being the best

mom she could be. From

staying up half the night

baking cakes or helping

build science projects, to

simply always having

open arms for loving

hugs, Casey was happiest

and most fulfilled when

she was with her children

and husband.

But her love and com-

passion extended beyond

just her immediate family.

The Benning home had a

revolving door where

neighborhood kids,

friends, all of the cousins,

and the rest of the family

were welcomed with

Casey’s bubbly smile and

buoyant attitude. She was

the kind of person who,

no matter how crazed or

busy, always had the time

of day to chat with others.

Even in her most trying

time, Casey was thinking

of others. She would

bring treats, prayer cards,

and handwritten well

wishes to everyone she

underwent chemo with

every week, right until the

very end, to let the rest

know they were not alone.

Also, true to Casey, dur-

ing one of her Caring-

Bridge posts she thanked

everyone for their prayers

for her, but also said,

“There are so many beau-

tiful, courageous people

who are also going

through this. Please keep

them all in your prayers

as you pray for me as

well.” She was truly the

most thoughtful, compas-

sionate, tender-hearted,

and graceful person on

earth. She projected opti-

mism wherever she went,

and even in her final

months and days, Casey’s

attitude helped others feel

at ease and, as her hus-

band said, “she handled it

like she handled every-

thing else, with poise and

grace.”

Over the last two years,

Casey lived by her faith

and her love for the Lord

never faltered. She wrote

in another post once, “I

told the kiddos the other

day that anyone can have

hope and faith when

everything is going great,

but it really matters that

we have hope and faith

when things aren’t exactly

going our way.”

Although her cir-

cumstances weren’t what

she’d ever hoped for,

Casey never asked “why?”

She said bad things hap-

pen to good people every

day, so it didn’t matter

why she was sick, only

that God had a plan and

she trusted in him.

Casey’s faith was resilient

and unyielding. She was

truly an extraordinary

person, and anyone who

knew her was all the

better for it.

On December 3, 2019,

after 23 months of em-

bodying that grace and

upholding her faith, Casey

went home to the Lord,

surrounded by loved

ones.

Casey is survived by

her husband, Ryan; chil-

dren, Ryder, Christian,

Grayson, and London;

parents Evan and Debbie

(Bowers) Lynch, and Mark

Hilleren; brothers, Bryan

Lynch, Seth (Ali) Hilleren,

sister, Jenny (Derek) Maat-

tala; parents-in-law,

Reede and Mary (Wal-

dock) Benning;

brothers-in-law, Ray Ben-

ning and Rhett (Kerri)

Benning; sister-in-law,

Miranda (Josh) Harvey;

paternal grandma, Carroll

Lynch; grandparents,

Jerome and Sherry Ler-

vick; 11 nieces and

nephews; and numerous

aunts, uncles, and

cousins.

She was preceded in

death by maternal

grandparents, Loren &

Beverly Bowers; paternal

grandfather, Dan Lynch;

paternal grandparents,

John and Delores Hilleren;

and uncle, John

Whisenand; a cousin,

Toni Bowers; and step-

mother, Cheryl (Lervick)

Hilleren.

In lieu of flowers,

please make a donation to

your favorite charity, or

just “Pay it Forward,” as

Casey would have done.

To share memories of

Casey and to sign the on-

line guestbook, go to

www.eastgatefuneral.com.