Inez F. Benoit

Cape Elizabeth Inez F. Benoit passed away at a local nursing home on December 10, 2015, at age 98. The daughter of Robert C. and Flora Braun Sutherland, she was born June 13, 1917 in Texas City, Texas. One of eight siblings, Inez grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her father was employed by the US Postal Service and her mother was a seamstress and homemaker. She attended local parochial schools, graduated from St. Marys High School and received a degree from Blair Business College. As a young woman, she played competitive table tennis and won the Colorado State Junior Womens Championship in 1938. After graduation from Blair she was employed from 1937 to 1939with the Alexander Film Company, Colorado Springs, as Secretary to the President. In 1940 she moved to Dallas, Texas, and worked in the US Department of War, district office, as an Administrative Assistant to the US Army Corps of Engineers. While in Texas, she met Lt. Robert Benoit, US Army Air Corps, a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and they married in 1943. Following the end of the war, they moved to Maine with their first of three children. Bob joined his father, Oscar L. Benoit, working in the family-owned clothing stores in Lewiston and Portland. They lived temporarily in Lewiston and South Portland, before settling in their home in Cape Elizabeth in 1954, where they lived for 54 years. An active mother and homemaker, Inez was engaged in numerous school and community activities, including the PTA, Cub Scouts, Little League, Cape Elizabeth Garden Club and a local Bridge Club. She was a neighborhood fundraiser for the American Heart Association and other local charities. After her children were grown, Inez went to work in the family clothing business on Congress Street in Portland. She loved working in the store and meeting many interesting people who patronized the business. Inez and Bob retired from the family business in 1991 and enjoyed many years of travel to Europe, Central America, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Mexico. They acquired a time share in Mazatlan, Mexico, and stayed there several weeks each winter for many years. They also enjoyed a seasonal cottage each summer on Green Lake in Ellsworth. In their later years, Inez and Bob dined frequently at the Saltwater Grill in South Portland, enjoying their nightly cocktail and pleasant chatter with the patrons and staff. After 64 years of marriage, Bob died in 2008. Inez is survived by three children, Sharon Benoit and her husband, Keith Weatherbie, of Monmouth; Jeff Benoit of Kennebunk; and Larry and Mary Beth Benoit of Cape Elizabeth. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Jeff Benoit and his wife Stephanie of Gorham; Heidi Mitchell and her husband Brad, of Kennebunkport; Nicole Benoit Downs and her partner, Jason Oliver, of Westbrook; Rob Benoit of Boston, Massachusetts; Elizabeth Benoit of Arlington, Virginia; Fran Mehra and her husband, Divesh, of Manhattan, New York City; and eight great grandchildren. Her seven siblings, Edward, Jesse, Spencer, Robert, Thomas, Flora Dee and Iola are all deceased, except Thomas, who resides in the State of Washington in a nursing home. The Benoit family wishes to thank the professional staff at Kindred Assisted Living Village Crossings in Cape Elizabeth for their kind, affectionate and thoughtful care of Inez during her seven years at the facility. While living there, she continued into her early nineties to assemble complex 1,000 piece puzzles and enjoyed playing Scrabble. And, she was always quick with a warm smile, hug and kiss for all who passed her way. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11AM on Wednesday, December 23 at St. Bartholomews Church, 8 Two Lights Road, Cape Elizabeth. Burial will follow at Forest City Cemetery, South Portland. To view Inezs memorial page or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ctcrawford.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in memory of Inez to the Marr Alzheimers Research Fund, Brigham and Womens Hospital, http://give.brighamandwomens.org/pages/marr-fund-family Or Mercy Hospital, https://mercyhospital.org/Mercy-In-the-Community/Support-Mercy.aspx