Shirley Marlene Benson

Shirley Marlene Harrison Benson, with eternal healing from the Lord, moved to her Heavenly home on April 12, 2023. In January of 2021, she received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease which added to other physical ailments that accompany a wise age. Marlene knew that her hope and strength lay on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness, and it was her knowledge of that hope and strength that gave her the power to fight hard until there was no fight left to be fought.

Not only through Marlene’s suffering but also throughout her whole life, Christ was her solid rock; she remained steadfast in her faith, setting an example for all her loved ones.

That life began on August 14, 1938, in Neshoba County. Born the second child of Benjamin Charlie Harrison and Betty Lenora Crocker Harrison. Marlene would eventually become a big sister to three siblings Frank Allen, Dorothy Jane, Hiram Perry, in addition to her role of little sister to her big brother Charlie Lee. Being one of the older children, Marlene grew to be a natural leader, and her mothering instincts contributed to the close and loving relationship that she shared with her siblings.

Marlene worked hard in all that she did not only in her home life but also at school and later in her profession. She graduated from Hickory High School in 1957 and married the love of her life Warner Glenn Benson (Brown) on September 7th of that same year. This union held strong for 54 years, until Brown’s death on December 4, 2011. The two would eventually have four daughters—Daphne Ann, Hilda Lenora, Tammy Kay, and Shirley Diana. They lived most of their lives in Mississippi; however, a brief time was spent in Michigan where Marlene completed the Livonia Business Machines Institute in 1968. She worked as a key punch operator for them while there. After moving back to Jackson, she continued this occupation working for the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Eventually, she added a part time position with Deposit Guaranty to her work schedule and maintained both jobs until she accepted her full time position with the bank. Ending her career in the communications network department, Marlene remained there until retirement.

Marlene was smart, though her humble nature would not allow her to admit this. She was a life-long learner and took many community college courses while working for Deposit Guaranty. She enjoyed computer programming and much of the coursework related to computers. She completed a BASIC programming course through Jackson State with her daughter Hilda and continued learning by taking a variety of other computer programming courses, including courses in COBOL and Fortran.

Her love of learning is connected to her love of reading. Marlene spent much of her time reading and studying her Bible, but she loved to read, especially novels. Before her death, she became a published author with her self-published memoir—Praise the Lord, Our Loving God, For My Blessings: A Look Back Over My Life. In Marlene’s memoir, her great love of God and family is evidenced.

Marlene was a lover. While God and family were her top two loves, she had many. In addition to learning and reading, Marlene loved fishing, cooking, and travelling. She and Brown loved taking their boat out on the reservoir, catching white perch, and frying them all for the whole family. She recognized and valued the way cooking and food could bring her whole family together. She mastered buttermilk biscuits and could cook two pans of biscuits that would be gone by nightfall when her children and grandchildren were visiting. While nothing tops her buttermilk biscuits, Marlene’s chicken salad and her chicken and dumplings are a close second. She would often make these dishes for her friends and family. She showed her love by blessing those special people in her life with delicious food. Her absence (and the absence of her home cooking) was always felt when she was away traveling. She and Brown loved traveling so much that they purchased a camper, and eventually, they sold their home in 1996 so that they could travel full-time. They travelled all over the United States and even into Mexico. Some may say that this love for travelling was simply an extension of her thirst for knowledge.

Eventually, Marlene and Brown came back to settle down in their long-time home of Rankin County—Fannin. Here, she returned to her church First Baptist Church of Fannin where she once again became a regular attendee. She loved her church family, and after Brown’s passing, she found great support and encouragement from her friends in the senior ladies Sunday school class.

At the end of her life, Marlene’s faith never failed—or even flinched, though her body certainly did. She continued to praise God and thank him for all her blessings—even when those praises became inaudible. Eventually, her condition worsened so that she could not live independently, and she moved into the home of her daughter Tammy. In those last months, she questioned God’s purpose in keeping her here in such poor physical health, but He revealed His purpose just two weeks before Marlene’s death. Her baby brother Perry passed peacefully in his home only two days after his last visit with Marlene, and her knowledge of him and his life was essential in the composition of Perry’s obituary.

At her passing, Marlene breathed her last breath with all four of her girls by her side. Though the sadness of such a great loss permeated the room, a great weight lifted as Marlene’s spirit ascended to Heaven and all of her loved one’s witnessed the end of her physical suffering. Her rock was, in fact, solid. Jesus Christ’s blood and righteousness continue to provide hope and strength for whom Marlene loved so dearly and who, in turn, loved her.

Marlene is preceded in death by her husband of 54 years Brown Benson, father Ben Harrison and mother Lenora Harrison, three brothers Charlie, Allen, and Perry Harrison, sister Dorothy McKee Bough, and son-in-law Jay White.

Marlene is survived by her four daughters Daphne Montgomery (Daryl), Hilda White, Tammy Kennedy (Al), Diana Spence (Cheney), sister-in-law Sinnie Harrison, 11 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life service will be held Sunday, April 16th at Baldwin-Lee Funeral Home in Pearl. Visitation will be held from 1:00pm until 2:00pm, with services at 2:00pm in the chapel. Graveside services will follow at 4:30pm in Henry's Chapel Cemetery in Philadelphia.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the benevolence fund at First Baptist Church of Fannin by clicking the give link at the bottom of their website home page: https://www.fbcfannin.org. Checks can be mailed to First Baptist Church of Fannin, 101 Church Road, Brandon, MS 39047.