Marian Harriet Benter

Marian Harriet Benter

died peacefully, sur-

rounded by her family, on

September 17, 2021. She

was born January 25,

1929, in Noonan, N.D., to

Albert and Luella Lee. She

was the oldest of five si-

blings, for whom she be-

came a family pillar and

caregiver from a young

age, a role she excelled at

her entire life.

She met her lifelong

partner and best friend,

Johnny, while working at

the drugstore. The young

army vet, working as a

mechanic, quickly be-

came a regular there ord-

ering milkshakes and fi-

nally asked her out on a

date.

They married February

1, 1948, and together they

built a home, raised five

children, and created a

wide network of close

friends. Her life was vi-

brant, full of love and ad-

venture. Marian was in

the passenger’s seat of

countless plane rides and

car trips to visit her sister

in Yerington, Nev., or

their relatives’ cabin in

West Glacier, always with

their kids piled in the

backseat. She journaled

every trip and always

made sure they had a fam-

ily adventure at least once

each year. While back

home in Crosby, Marian

handled the bookwork at

her husband’s body shop

until they both decided to

“retire.”

After the kids grew up,

Marian and Johnny logged

thousands of miles togeth-

er, split among their

motorhome, motorcycle,

Johnny’s wrecker (tow

truck) from the body

shop, and two of their re-

stored military vehicles,

the Studebaker and Car-

ryall, in which they drove

to Alaska and Portland,

respectively. Marian was

the first to laugh about

how bumpy and hot those

rides to Portland and

Alaska were, and it was

clear that she was happy

to travel anywhere – in

any kind of vehicle – so

long as she was together

with Johnny.

Marian was fiercely

proud of her husband’s

service in WWII. She,

along with a dedicated

group of her closest

friends, built and sus-

tained the local chapter of

the American Legion Aux-

iliary. For years she en-

sured that most jackets in

Divide County donned a

Poppy for Memorial Day,

and she served up

thousands of beef

pull-a-parts and dishes of

potato salad at the Legion

stand at the county fair.

She loved to sing and

dance; she and Johnny

were often the first to the

dancefloor at their kids’

and grandkids’ weddings

and they loved listening

to live music at Legion

clubs. In the summer, she

kept a colorful flower gar-

den, and she loved watch-

ing the songbirds

throughout the season.

Her children fondly

remember her for all the

wonderful baked goods

that welcomed them

home from school, and

the rock-solid devotion

she had to her family. Her

grandchildren remember

her for incredibly

always-on-time birthday

cards and unwavering

love and interest in their

developing lives. Togeth-

er, she and Johnny creat-

ed a beautiful, enriching

life out of an extraordi-

narily humble beginning.

She was preceded in

death by: her siblings

Marlys Ekness, Glen Lee,

and Ervin Lee; in-laws Jer-

ry Homestead, Ray and

Elenora Benter, and Orvin

Kjorli; daughter Marilyn

Germundson and

son-in-law Galen; and

daughter-in-law Debbie

Benter.

She is survived by: her

husband of 73 years,

Johnny; sister Alice

Homestead; in-laws Millie

Kjorli, Vicky Lee, and Al

Ekness; children, Cheryl

(Jerry) Fleck, Karen Kost-

er, Susan (Paul) Hagen,

Neil Benter (Gail Cough-

lin); all 13 grandchildren,

and 33

great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at

Concordia Lutheran

Church on Friday, Sep-

tember 24, at 11 a.m.

Visitation will be 3 PM to

7 PM on Thursday, Sep-

tember 23, 2021 at

Stakston-Martin Funeral

Home in Crosby. Inurn-

ment will follow at a later

date at the North Dakota

Veterans Cemetery in

Mandan.

Stakston-Martin Fun-

eral Home of Crosby is in

charge of the arrange-

ments.