Jack Harold Benoche

Jack Benoche passed to his eternal reward on October 21, 2025. He was born in Fayetteville, NC in 1930 to William (“Jack”) & Geneva Benoche. His father passed when Jack was just 7 and when his mother remarried he requested to live with his grandparents, John & Julia Russell.

When Jack’s grandfather died, he had to quit school to support his grandmother. He had dreamed of becoming a dentist, but God had other plans.

At 18, Jack joined the Army and served with the 6th Army Rangers 4th Combat Team. During that time he was a part of the paratroopers as well as becoming a ski instructor in Alaska. He made Staff Sargent in just nineteen months.

On a visit home he met his new neighbor, Nina Dudley. They married October 18, 1952 and relocated to Virginia.

Jack became a fire fighter. He loved his job and excelled at it. When he retired, he was the Assistant Fire Chief at the station located at the Yorktown Coast Guard base. A few years later he became a guard for the Newport News Department of Correction and earned his second retirement.

During his life, Jack built multiple homes. He and his two brothers-in-law teamed up to build the houses on Ponderosa Dr, in Hampton. He had a gift for finding property and envisioning the home there. Jack built many other homes throughout the Newport News and Gloucester Point area.

On December 17, 1994, he married Carol Wilson and the remained in the Hampton Roads area.

Jack was an avid storyteller. His rich memory and sense of humor were the delight of his family. He raised his children to find the humor in life and encouraged them to never take themselves too seriously. He was generous and loving. He passes along a heritage of love and a lifetime of stories and lessons. He loved traveling (especially to the Blue Ridge Mountains), family, God and golf.

Even though Jack spent the last several years of his life blind from the effects of glaucoma, he never lost his ability to entertain with the stories from one of the fullest lives ever lived. He will be greatly missed, but we know he’s dancing around heaven with eyes that can see.

Jack is survived by his wife, Carol Benoche; children: Peggy (Kenny) Hamons, Linda (David Clardy, fiancé), Jackie (Jeff) Tank, Donny Benoche; step children: James Wilson, Linda (Brian) Wright, Ronald (Christina) Wilson; grandchildren: Brian (Iris) Hamons, Tara (Dre) Estrada, Sharon (Greg) Houston, Audrey (Glenn Dean), Kneut, Austin (Jade Maynard) Tank, Kyle Tank, Cherie (Ian Whiteside) Benoche, Tad Davis; step grandchildren: Dawn (Rob) Young, Megan (Scott) Hewitt, Donald (Katie) Wilson, Matthew Sheridan, Michael Hudson, Joshua (Katie) Sheridan, Krystal Wilson, Alisha Wilson, Christopher Wilson, Shawn Wilson, Haley Small; great grandchildren: Abigail, Gavin, Gage, Savannah, Ashton, Jaden, Kamden, Lillian, Liam, Rose, Faith, Cambria, William, Walles, Amelia, Airiana, Violet, Jourdan, Kamoura; step great grandchildren: Kaitly, Riley, Conner, Tyra, Talia, Addison, Maverick, Michael, Lorali, Jayden, Maya, Leah, Draven, Kayleigh, Kori, Layla, Harper, Skylar, Jeremy, Jonah.

He is preceded in death by his grandparents; parents; siblings: Billy Benoche, Peggy Ann Benoche; step siblings: Patsy Wardwell, Bobby Kelly, Joyce Goss; first wife, Nina Benoche; step daughter, Brenda Sheridan; step grandchildren: Matthew P Sheridan, Heather Wilson.

A funeral service to honor and celebrate Jack’s life will be held on Friday, October 24, 2025 at All Generations Church in Newport News at 10:00am with a luncheon to follow. Burial will be at Parklawn on Thursday, October 30th at 3:00pm.