Valley City, ND - Sylvia Benson, 82, died Friday, March 6, 1998 at the Sheyenne Care Center in Valley City, ND.
Funeral services will be held today (Wednesday, March 11) at 2 p.m. at Oliver-Nathan Funeral Chapel in Valley City, ND with Gary Clark officiating. Visitation was held Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Wednesday. Burial will be later in the spring in Memory Gardens in Valley City, ND.
Sylvia Sophia Jokela was born June 27, 1915 at Malcolm, the daughter of John and Maria (Brosi) Jokela. She graduated with honors from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls in 1932. She earned her teaching certificate after attending teacher's training for one year and taught in country schools for three years.
She married Alfred O. Benson at Red Lake Falls on October 27, 1934. The couple lived and farmed at Malcolm. They moved to Valley City, ND in 1957 and began operating Benson Nursery. Sylvia worked with her husband in the business until retiring in 1979. She became a resident of the Sheyenne Care Center in the fall of 1991.
She was an avid gardener, bird watcher, reader and bowler. She attended Southwest Bible Chapel and was a member of V-500.
Sylvia is survived by two sons, John of Valley City, ND and David (Gayle) of Crookston; two daughters, Mary (Willis) Wager and Bonnie Benson, both of Valley City, ND; seven grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two brothers and four sisters.