Madelyn Lou Benjamin

Obituary Madelyn Lou Hudgins Benjamin was born to Lou Bradley in Sparta, Tennessee. January 6, 1919 is her given birth date. She was the youngest of five children, including Charles, Robert, Bertha and Edna. Interestingly enough, her given name at birth was Mattie. It was her sister Edna who changed her name to Madelyn Lou upon the death of their mother, when young Mattie was 13 years old. She grew up in both Sparta and Chattanooga, moving back and forth between towns with her mother, who was a caregiver. They lived wherever Lou's job would take them, a fact that marked Madelyn's childhood with sadness and a longing for a home of her own. At the age of 17, Madelyn was living in Detroit, working as one of the famed elevator operators at Hudson's downtown department store. But she was determined to finish what had become a haphazard education due to all the moves she'd had to make. So she joined the Army and served overseas before returning to Detroit and completing her education at Lewis Business College and the Detroit Institute of Commerce. Madelyn became a secretary and worked in several clerical positions for the U.S. Government, including positions at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command. And it was one of her colleagues who introduced her to David Benjamin an introduction that initially, really ticked her off because he was ushered in to meet her while she was clad only in her slip. But things went well and David and Madelyn married on June 4, 1955. And the sadness and loneliness she had felt as a child without her own home was soon replaced by the joy of two daughters and a home she lived in for 42 years in Detroit. Madelyn is survived by her daughters, Geralynn Ann Smith-Benjamin and Regina Ann Benjamin Steiger; two sons-in-law, Daniel Jay Smith and Richard Brian Steiger; four granddaughters, Sarah Brittain Louise, Noelle Mary-Madelyn, Hanna Hayden and Mikayla Joy and a host of nieces, nephews and adopted grandchildren. The Funeral will be held on Wednesday 12 Noon at A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 20705 Mack Avenue at Vernier, Grosse Pointe Woods with Interment to follow at Mt. Elliott Cemetery in Detroit. Visitation will be held at the Funeral Home on Tuesday from 1pm until 9pm.

Mt. Elliott

1701 Mt. Elliott St

Detroit, MI

US 48207

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 1:30 PM

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236