Olive Benson

Born on May 15, 1927, in Mission, B.C., she was the eldest daughter of Florence (nee Brouard) and Henry Herbert “Herb” Davies.

In 1911, at the age of 6, Florence had emigrated with her family from Guernsey, Channel Islands, to Hatzic, B.C. There she met Herb, whose parents had emigrated from Great Britain. Florence and Herb married after he returned from the First World War.

Olive was the second of the Davies children: Vincent, Olive, Helen, Edwin, Jackie, Myrtle and Lloyd. The children were raised on the Davies’ family dairy farm in Dewdney, near Mission, B.C. After graduating from high school, Olive moved to Vancouver to study business at Pitman College.

Olive married Orval Donald “Benny” Benson in Mission on June 9, 1950. Benny and his younger sister, Stella, were the children of Olga (nee Klatchko) and George Dewey Benson. The Benson family had moved from their farm in Alberta to Vancouver in 1941. Olive enjoyed roller skating and, in 1946, met Benny at the local roller rink.

Benny worked delivering heating oil for Shell in the winter months and fished commercially in the summer. Olive and Benny’s first child, Donald, was born in 1951. Following the birth of their second child, Gail, in 1954, the family moved to Foster Avenue in Coquitlam, B.C.

In the early ’60s, Benny and Olive purchased their first tanker truck. Benny ran the trucking business and Olive kept the books. Over time, they added more trucks and tankers to their fleet. In 1971, Donald joined his father and the two combined their efforts to grow the business, diversifying into hauling jet fuel and chemicals up and down the west coast. Benson Tank Lines flourished. Donald took over the business from his father in 1986.

In addition to Benson Tank Lines, Olive started working at Super Valu grocery store in 1960 and retired when Benny stepped back from running his business.

Olive and Benny owned a series of campers/trailers and enjoyed many vacations in the southern states. They also spent most spring, summer and fall weekends at their trailer on Whatcom Lake, Washington, where they developed a close group of friends, sharing stories around the campfire on many an evening. After 28 years at Whatcom, they and a number of friends moved their trailers to Birch Bay.

In 2012, Olive and Benny sold the family home and moved to The Wesbrooke, an independent living facility in Pitt Meadows. They loved their new surroundings and the change introduced them to a whole new group of friends, activities and adventures.

Olive leaves behind son Donald (Brenda), grandchildren Jamie, Kris, and Shanna, great-grandchildren Brandon, Brooklyn, Madison, Carter and Milana Benson, Aliya Parkins and great-great-grandchild Sophie Benson. She also leaves daughter Gail Powell (Price) and grandchildren Lindsay Glover and Sean Powell. Additionally, she leaves youngest brother Lloyd Davies (Carol), sister-in-law Ethel Davies and many nieces and nephews.

She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.

The family would particularly like to thank the staff at The Wesbrooke who have been so warm and supportive.

There will be no service, per Olive’s request.

To see a short video about Olive’s life, click https://youtu.be/beLQAx7UVsE