Frances Louise Benson

Frances Louise Benson "Louise" (née Dresbach) passed away at Sterling House, in Columbus, OH, on January 25, 2015, at the age of 94.

Louise is survived by her daughter, Pamela Jean Larsen, who lives in OR, 2 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren, who live in OK; 3 siblings, Celia Zeigler, of Hallsville OH, Blanche Downs, also at Sterling House, and Carl Dresbach, of Zanesville, OH; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Iva Mae and Walter Dresbach; her husband, Lawrence Benson; and her siblings, Ralph Dresbach, Genevieve Dresbach and Fred Dresbach.

Louise was born on October 12, 1920 on the farm, near Hallsville, OH, as the fourth child in a family of seven. She graduated from the Dresbach grade school and Centralia HS in 1939. She married Lawrence Benson in 1941.  While he was in WWII, Louise worked at National Fireworks. After the war, the couple both worked for the Mead Corporation and lived in Chillicothe OH. In 1950, they welcomed their daughter, Pam, into their home.

In 1953, Louise and Lawrence got the entrepreneurial spirit and bought a Dairy Queen in Zanesville, Ohio and took over management in 1954. The business was very successful because of their outgoing nature and Louise's great cooking of items like chicken salad sandwiches and Sloppy Joes.  They also started spending winter months in Florida and, eventually, they bought a place on Big Pine Key with Blanche and John Downs, Louise's sis ^th wheel and enjoyed her large, extended family.

Lawrence and John died in the early 1990's and Louise and Blanche, with their dogs and cats, moved to side-by-side houses in Frazeysburg, Ohio. They continued their snowbird lifestyle until last spring when Alzheimer's Disease forced them to move back to Ohio permanently.

A memorial service will be held in the spring and all will be welcome to attend and celebrate Louise's life. If you wish to be informed when the memorial service is scheduled, please send your contact information to debdowns@razouk.com .   In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Alzheimer's Association at 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1700, Chicago, IL 60601-7633 .

Condolences can be sent to Pamela at lovingspirit1950@yahoo.com or 2151 Three Lakes Rd. SE #73, Albany OR 97322. The family would like to thank the Sterling House staff, hospice care and Wendy Eadler for their care and dedication.

Services were provided by the Hill Funeral Home, Kingston, Ohio.

Alzheimer's Association of Central Ohio
1379 Dublin Road, Columbus, Ohio 43215,
Tel: (614) 457-6003
Web: www.alz.org/centralohio/index.asp

Helpline Email: helplinecentralohio@alz.org