Barbara Nan Benington

BENINGTON, Barbara Nan graced the lives of her family and countless others for almost 97 years. Born November 16, 1923, in Alameda, California to Louis and Nano LeFevre, she passed away peacefully on September 29, 2020, in her East Lansing home. She is preceded in death by her husband, John, her son, Jim, and her brother, Greg.

Barbara grew up in San Francisco where she eventually attended St. Mary’s Nursing School. For her, nursing was a vocation, not just a career, born from her irrepressible desire to serve the suffering and bring some measure of healing to a world ravaged by its second Great War. This desire, buoyed by her strong Catholic faith, would come to define much of Barbara’s long and rich life, marked by countless acts of compassionate service to others.

Barbara also possessed a love of theater, which her father nurtured in her at a young age. When the University of San Francisco, an all-male university at the time, needed to recruit female thespians to act in their theater productions, they had to look no further than the all-women’s nursing school just down the street. Barbara was a natural and was soon taking on such lead roles as Joan of Arc and Mary Queen of Scots. During rehearsal breaks, the cast would retreat to the campus snack bar where Barbara caught the eye of a certain ex-GI student from Findlay, Ohio who worked there. The eye-catching was mutual and it wasn’t long before Barbara was dating John Benington, the captain of the University’s national champion basketball team. Barbara and John were wed on May 28, 1949, and by April of the following year, they welcomed their first child. Having had only one sibling, Barbara dreamed of having a large brood, a feat she accomplished when the ninth and last child was born 12 years later.

As their family grew incrementally, so did John’s college basketball coaching career. Barbara, as his most loyal and vociferous fan, followed him in his peripatetic career path from San Francisco to East Lansing to Des Moines to St. Louis, and then full circle, back to East Lansing as John accepted the position as MSU’s head basketball coach in 1965. Four years later, Barbara lost the love of her life to a fatal heart attack. Barbara was 45 at the time of John’s death. Drawing strength from her faith and the community of St. John’s Student Parish who surrounded her with love and support, Barbara moved forward with resolve to raise and provide for her family of nine. While John had always been the “star” of the family, Barbara had served as the glue. And now that glue was needed more than ever. She went from part-time nursing to a full-time position at MSU’s Olin Student Health Center. She would eventually accept a position as the Supervisor of Surgery and Recovery at Ingham Medical Center, where she was recognized and honored for her excellence in nursing and leadership, and from where she would eventually retire.

During the later years of her nursing career, Barbara traveled to third world countries with medical teams to provide much-needed healthcare to remote and poverty-stricken villages. And retirement did not quell that early-born desire to act selflessly on behalf of the suffering, marginalized and disadvantaged. She went on to work as a medical liaison for Refugee Services, where she was beloved and “adopted” by many grateful refugee families, and later volunteered as an AIDS buddy and caregiver at Mother Theresa House.

But Barbara wasn’t all work. She loved a good book, a worthy theater production, a rousing bridge night with “the girls,” travels with family and friends, Friday nights with her women’s prayer and study group, birdwatching, and always an MSU basketball or football game. But above all, she loved the special times shared and celebrated with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Barbara will be dearly missed by so many, but her legacy will endure through all the lives she touched with her healing, compassionate, indomitable, and life-affirming spirit. The world is a better place because Barbara Benington was here.

She is survived by sons Peter (Kathy), John (Gale), Casey (Denise) and Paul; daughters Joan (John) Mackson, Marianne (Ellis, deceased) Perraut, Tina (Jim) Huerta and Nancy. Grandchildren John, Matthew, Jennifer, Sara, Rae, Matt, Emily, Louie, Josh, Rachel, Anna, Stephanie, Christie and Tracie. Great Grandchildren Dominic, Maddie, Anthony, Carter, Isaac, Jacob, Mack, Miles, Jayden, Eliana, Jonas, Zoe, Taylor, Marie, Emme, Grady, Maddox, Connor, Brody, Noah, Troy, Savannah and Andre. She is also survived by her two “adopted” children, Carolyn Gorzyca and Timothy Busfield.

The family is being served by Gorsline-Runciman’s East Lansing Chapel. There will be a visitation on Sunday, October 4, 2-4 pm at St. John’s Catholic Church in East Lansing. A funeral Mass celebration of Barbara’s life will be held at St. John’s Monday, October 5, with visitation from 10-10:45 am, immediately followed by the service.

View recorded video of service at www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6tYkAwAxpA&t=2373s

Condolences may be shared online at www.greastlansing.com

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sparrow Home Hospice, St. Vincent Food Cupboard or St. Vincent Refugee Services.