She was born in Pradamano, a small town in the far northeastern corner of Italy, on May 23, 1930. Her parents were Girolamo Lavarone and Catarina “Giuseppina” Pascolini. Catarina gave birth to 5 children but sadly passed away while trying to give birth to a sixth. Silvana was only 4 years old at the time and was the second youngest surviving sibling.
The family moved to different areas of northeastern Italy including Fiume, an area with a complicated history and now part of Croatia, and Orsaria in the area of Udine. Her father did eventually remarry but life remained challenging for the family in those times. They lived through the German occupation of World War II and dealt with food shortages, German and Fascist oppression, fighting between the Axis forces and the partisan resistance, and even bombings by the Allies. Many of mom’s stories were fascinating and developed during a rich period of European history.
After the war, mom met Jose Marciano Benavides, a soldier with the United States Army stationed in Italy. They were married on March 8, 1947 in Orsaria.
Joe was a career enlisted man and their Army travels took them to many posts including Trieste (Italy), Germany, Pennsylvania, California, Texas and lastly, Fort Riley, Kansas, home of the 13th Infantry and the “Big Red One”. Joe’s army career included earning the Combat Infantryman Badge from his WWII service, the Army of Occupation Medal for post-war service in Europe, and attaining status as an expert marksman before moving on to civilian life. Mom was there with him nearly every step of the way until he passed in 1983.
Mom had a passion for dancing, music, bingo, friends and family. She was very loving, quite opinionated without getting into other peoples’ business, and extremely set in her ways! She was also very loved and her family misses her terribly. It is bittersweet that we lost her on Valentine’s Day.
She was preceded in death by her parents as well as by her husband Joe and her son Larry. She was also the last of her siblings.
Silvana was survived by her daughter Linda Benavides, her son Jerry Benavides and her daughter-in-law Kathleen Benavides. There are eight grandchildren: Noah Mingus, Jacob Mingus, Keshava Mingus, Daniel Mingus, Logan Mingus, Kristin Malone, Jenna Benavides and Maddie Benavides. There are also 14 great grandchildren!
Visitation at Cage-Mills Funeral Directors, 4901 Everhart Road, Corpus Christi, TX on Friday, February 21, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. followed by Funeral Services at 10:00 a.m. Interment to follow at Seaside Memorial Cemetery at 11:30 a.m.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at: www.cagemillsfuneraldirectors.com
