Alma Marie Beneke
Born: February 16th, 1933
Died: February 7th, 2014
Obituary
Alma Marie (Harris) Beneke, 80, of Chatham, Illinois, formerly of West Burlington, Iowa passed away on Friday February 7th at St. John's Hospital Hospice in Springfield, Illinois.
Born on February 16, 1933 in Waterloo, Iowa she was the daughter of Kenneth James and Margaret (McLeod) Harris. She married Rudolph "Rudy" Beneke on June 16, 1956 in Waterloo. He died July 27, 2011.
Alma started as a school teacher in Belle Plaine, Iowa followed by Savanna, Illinois after marrying Rudy. She also worked as a substitute teacher in Galva, Illinois prior to moving to Burlington with her husband. She spent her Son's school years as a homemaker, returning to substitute teaching for the Burlington and West Burlington school districts for over seven years. After her retirement in 1991 she continued as an in home tutor for several students.
She was a member of First Christian Church ~Disciples of Christ, Burlington, Iowa, Des Moines County Retired School Personnel and Reading Club.
Survivors include one son, Brian J. (Lena) Beneke, two grandsons, Vitali J. Beneke and Neal A. Beneke all of Chatham, Illinois; two sisters Jane A. Harris of Waterloo, Iowa and Mary M. Abbas of Geneva, Iowa and three nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, one nephew, and husband.
The funeral service for Mrs. Beneke will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 12th in Lunning Chapel. Rev. David Yonker will officiate. Interment will be held in Aspen Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service on Wednesday.
In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established to the Charity First Book, a national organization that gives children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books