She was born on Feb. 18, 1937, in Fort Pierce, Fla., daughter of George Oliver Cox and Katherine Morris Cox. She was raised in Vero Beach, Fla., and graduated from Vero Beach High School, and then attended Mississippi Southern College. She then went to work in Washington, D.C., in Foreign Service at the State Department. Due to the Berlin Crisis, her assignment to Bonn, Germany, was cancelled. In the meantime, she began dating James Albin “Jim” Benson. When she received her new assignment to Switzerland, he proposed she stay and marry him! Jim and Kay wed in 1962 and were happily married for 46 years. Prior to coming to St. Simons Island, they lived in Pitman, N.J. and Louisiana, Mo.
Kay was an active member of St. Simons Presbyterian Church, where she joyfully served in many roles. She journeyed to Malawi, Africa, in 2002 with her cherished church mission team. In 2008, she made her way back to Malawi on her own as she longed to go back and rock the babies at the orphanage.
After arriving on St. Simons, she took classes in marine biology and history of the Golden Isles. This lead to her guiding local educational beach walks and history tours, and eventually an invitation to becoming a partner at Golden Isles Touring Co.
Kay remained close to high school friends from Vero throughout her life. Swing and Sway with Ann & Kay was a daily radio show she and her good friend hosted. She began her love of travel with her high school class trip to Havana, Cuba. In the summer of 1958, she set sail for Europe on a student ship.
Her travels continued as she and Jim saw the world together and often with their son, Randy, reaching six continents by air and sea. Amidst all her travels and making friends around the world, her favorite place of all was to be with her children and grandchildren.
Kay is survived by her two daughters, Katie Benson Dudt (Jan Frederic) of Grove City, Pa., and Laura Benson Keil (Tim) of Pleasant Hill, Calif.; son, James Randolph Benson (Gabriel) of Atlanta, Ga.; five grandchildren, Jacob Dudt (Hannah) of Canonsburg, Pa., Katherine Dudt of Annandale, Va., and Philip Dudt, Caroline Dudt and Jansen Dudt, all of Grove City; two step-grandchildren, Katie Keil of Lafayette, Calif., and Aimee (Joe) Hauptman of San Ramon, Calif.; three great-grandchildren, Molly and Maggie Hauptman, and Adelaide Dudt; sisters-in-law, Mrs. Joe Wilford of Lower Gwynedd, Pa., and Mrs. Robert Benson of Hollywood, Calif.; brothers-in-law, David Benson (Nancy) of Sandia Park, N.M., and Allen Benson (Melody) of St. Augustine, Fla.; and 17 nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jim Benson; her sister, George Ann Featherston and her husband, C.D.; her brother, Calvin Cox; a sister-in-law, Helen Baille, and her husband, Michel; brothers-in-law, Joe Wilford and Robert Benson; and a niece, Callie Musil.
A private graveside service will be held for the family on Saturday, May 8 in the Christ Church Cemetery on St. Simons Island.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 8 on the lawn of St. Simons Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Alan Dyer and the Rev. Kate Buckley officiating. A reception will be held following the service.
Honorary pallbearers will be Jake Dudt, Philip Dudt, Jansen Dudt, Roy MacGregor, Dillard Featherston, Allen Benson, David Summers and Pate Summers.
Memorial gifts may be made to Malawi Lilongwe Crisis Nursery Account, Ministry of Hope, P.O. Box 1462, Black Mountain, NC 28711, or The Snows Mill Guesthouse Missionary Care Ministry, 1791 Snows Mill Road, Bogart, GA 30622, a ministry co-founded by Kay’s daughter, Laura.
