Margaret Elizabeth Sherrard Benz

Published 12:08 am Sunday, May 14, 2017

February 10, 1920 – April 24, 2017

Margaret Benz was born on February 10, 1920, in Lakeview, Oregon, to Mattie A McCulley Sherrard and Fred Sherrard. She died at 97 years of age of congestive heart failure on April 24, 2017, with family by her side.

She attended Cogswell Creek Grade School and Lakeview High School. She was a proud recipient of the Daly Fund Scholarship to attend Oregon State College where she was one of a small number of women in the School of Agriculture and was a resident of Waldo Hall where she met many life long friends.

She also was a touring member of USO shows for troops during World War II and worked in the dining room at Crater Lake Lodge during the summers while attending Oregon State. She loved that experience! Margaret graduated from Oregon State College in 1943. She then worked in the Kaiser shipyards in Portland to help with the war effort.

Margaret married George U Benz in 1944 – a brother of one of her good friends from Waldo Hall. They purchased land in Tigard where they lived for almost 50 years. Margaret was active in the PTA for St. Anthony’s Catholic Church grade school and helped in the classroom since she was a stay-at- home Mom with five children to raise. She was a great supporter of all of her children’s activities. She loved attending swim meets at Tigard High School when her two sons were competing.

Margaret was also a dedicated and popular 4-H leader teaching her children and the other young 4-H members how to cook, sew, garden, show horses and sheep at the Washington County Fair and Oregon State Fair. We all ended up with lots of blue and champion ribbons because of her leadership. She created a large garden where we all enjoyed a bounty of vegetables all season long. She was a great cook and passed that skill on to her kids and grandkids.

She was proud to attend Mother’s weekends at Oregon State where all her children were expected to graduate. She and several other OSU mothers compiled and sold the OSU Mother’s Cookbook as a fundraiser with all of our favorite recipes. She always followed Beaver events. Go Beavs!

Margaret always felt that one day she would be able to return to the family ranch in Lakeview, Oregon – land that she owned throughout her married life. ln the mid 1980s Margaret and her husband, George, were able to return to farm the land for almost 16 years where they raised barley, wheat and leased out the property for cattle and horse grazing. She loved the town of Lakeview and all the relatives and friends she knew and enjoyed visiting. She mentioned often that her time in Lakeview was one of the happiest times of her life. The Ranch was located on the shores of Goose Lake in Lake County and she enjoyed the spectacular sunsets from their deck every evening.

As the years went by, George and Margaret moved to Redmond, Oregon where they lived on 14th Street. They loved to meet and greet their neighbors and enjoyed occasional trips to Reno and visits to their children. George passed away in 2007 after celebrating 63 years of marriage with Mom. Margaret then moved to the Regency Village at Redmond in 2013.

Margaret is survived by five children; Mary Sayler (Gene), Kathy Mooers (Brian), George Benz (Debbie), Fred Benz and Theresa Stevenson (Michael). Nine grandchildren; David, Bryan and Melissa Sayler, Houston Mooers, Aly Sung, Marissa and Harrison Mooers, and Michael and Alicia Stevenson and six great-grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life was held on April 26 in Redmond. Margaret was remembered on Friday, May 5 at Mt. Calvary Cemetery Chapel in Portland, Oregon at 11:00 a.m. for close family and friends.

The family would like to extend its thanks to Regency Village at Redmond for their compassionate and thoughtful care for Margaret during her last months. Also thanks to the members of St. Thomas Catholic church in Redmond, her eucharistic minister, Leo Demers and Father Todd Unger. We also give special thanks to Myrna A. Honda, her Friday helper Ginny Senden and her Redmond neighbors, Karen and John (Scotty)Scott.

Donations in her memory may be sent to St. Thomas Catholic Church in Redmond, 1720 NW 19th St., Redmond, Oregon 97756.