On July 13, 2025, in the early morning hours, Glorine Ellen Benson passed away at her home in Henderson, Nev.
Born on March 8, 1936, in a small farmhouse in Valley, Wis., to Margaret Ellen Hammon (Hunter) and Edgar Hammon of Valley, Glorine was the baby of the family yet seemed to “rule the roost” with a strong will & drive.
A graduate of Kendall High School in Kendall, Wis., her senior class of 1954 consisted of 34 students. Glorine spent her senior year (what she referred to as one of the very best times of her life) participating in various school activities such as Glee Club, News Club, FHA and Baton Twirler. She was a leader, not a follower, and that showed in the roles she assumed.
Glorine loved to reminisce about her senior year, making her move to K.H.S, telling many stories of enjoying school activities, going to dances, hanging out at the Cone Shop in Elroy with the girls and the rivalry between the Kendall girls and Elroy girls (mostly over boys)! Glorine’s memory was so very sharp — she could give details about names and places like no one could.
After graduating, she enrolled in a training course for United Airlines in Omaha, Neb. After completing the course, she was hired by United in 1956 as a reservation agent. She moved into the city of Chicago, balancing work and traveling to places such as Hawaii and California with friends.
In 1957, when Glorine was back “in town” for her friend Charlene’s wedding preparations (most likely taking in a dance and doing a polka or two at the Kendall Community Hall), she was introduced to Wayne Benson (a 1951 graduate of K.H.S. as well) at the infamous Siebeckers, on Main Street in downtown Kendall. The couple married in a civil ceremony in Lake Forest at the house of the JP on April 28, 1958, and then lived downtown Chicago in a quaint apartment during that year.
Soon after the arrival of their first baby boy, Eric Wayne Benson in 1959, Glorine & Wayne ventured out to the suburbs, where they settled in Cary, Ill., and had their first house built in the subdivision of Lake Killarney, eventually building again on Londonderry Drive, where they raised their three children, Eric Wayne, Kevin Mitchell and Amy Jo (and their precious pup, Patches).
Through the years, Glorine worked at various jobs, Kemper Insurance to name one, and as an aide in a special education classroom being another, all the while being a devoted mother and wife, spending many hours driving kids back and forth to various sports and activities, being there to watch her sons play baseball and hockey, and then even participating as the head coach of her daughter’s softball team.
One of Glorine’s fondest memories came when her daughter’s CY softball team, The Blue Jays, under her management in 1975 (?), won the championship!
In 1988, after becoming empty nesters, the couple decided to pack it up and head back to their roots in Wisconsin. They bought a house on Main Street in Tomah, Wis., where Glorine opened up an in-house antique shop, “Glory B Tiques.”
Ten years later, in 1999, they opted to go back to the rural country roads off of County Highway A to W, located in the town of Clifton, Monroe County, where they built a house on property that Wayne’s parents (Ben Lloyd and Luella) had farmed and lived on since the 1930s. Glorine and Wayne spent 20 years in the beautiful countryside, bird watching, reconnecting with wildlife, Fountain Lutheran Church, family and longtime friends.
Being snowbirds for many years, spending winters in Las Vegas, Nev., where their daughter had moved, after all three children became residents, Wayne and Glorine sold their home and property in Wisconsin in 2021 and moved to Henderson, Nev., full time. It was quite fitting moving near to Vegas, as Glorine had always loved to play various card games, being very mindful and quite competitive when doing so.
In her final days, she spent many hours keeping her mind active, either playing rummy with her daughter or beating herself at solitaire.
Glorine leaves behind her husband of 67 years; her three children, Eric (Jennifer) Benson, Kevin Benson, and Amy Jo Turnbeaugh; and three grandchildren, Trista Faith Turnbeaugh, Torri Grace Turnbeaugh and Kyle A. Benson. She also leaves behind her sister, Clara Jane Hammon of Onalaska, Wis. Glorine was preceded in death by her parents and twin sisters, Elaine Price and Arlene Leibold.
Arrangements are pending. Glorine (and Wayne) will both be laid to rest at Fountain Lutheran Church Cemetery in Kendall, Wis.
