COMAIR 5191: A YEAR LATER
Bobbie Benton, 50, and Jesse Clark Benton, 48
Stanford
'Bombardment of reminders'
Moments after the crash of Comair Flight 5191, as Lincoln County Coroner Bill Demrow raced to the site as part of a local response team, he got a cell phone call from his wife, Debbie.
"She said, `Bill, pull over ... pull over and stop.' "
Recounting the story a year later, Demrow had to pause a moment to regain his composure.
"She said, `Bill, Bobbie and Clark are on that plane.' "
Bobbie and Clark Benton were Demrow's sister and brother-in-law; they were heading to Aruba for a vacation.
After dealing with the immediate shock, Demrow said, he and his wife "talked and ... prayed about it, and we came to the conclusion that I would be better off there (at the scene), helping my sister and her husband and other families, than I would be coming back home, sitting here for the next three days, wondering what's going on."
So while his wife went to be with the Bentons' two grown children, Bill Demrow continued to the crash site, where he kept mum about his personal connections, knowing he would be sent home if anyone knew.
"I would do it again," he said recently. "It's where I belonged; it's where I was supposed to be. ... And I've had other family members that lost loved ones on that plane tell me that they were glad I was there. They thought that my being there, with my vested interest, assured them that their families were taken care of also."
Demrow, who is a partner in Barnett, Demrow & Fox Funeral Home in Stanford, often passes the Bentons' graves when handling funerals at Buffalo Springs Cemetery in Stanford.
It can't be avoided, he said, any more than the well-meaning people who still inquire about the tragedy.
"You run to Wal-Mart and you'll see four people there who'll all bring it up to you — how sorry they are," Demrow said. "It's just a constant bombardment of reminders."
Clark and Bobbie Benton had been sweethearts since growing up together at Stanford. His career in the Marine Corps took them all over the world, Bill Demrow said, but after he retired a few years ago, they moved back home.
"Through the whole 20-some year career, Bobbie missed being at home and was so happy when they finally moved back here," he said.
"Many times she'd remark that she'd missed out on so much family by being away. And when she got back, she hosted the Thanksgivings and Christmases. ... We'd say, `We'll take turns.' She'd say, `No, I'll do this. I've missed the last 20.' "
Bobbie Benton, 50, and Jesse Clark Benton, 48
Stanford
'Bombardment of reminders'
Moments after the crash of Comair Flight 5191, as Lincoln County Coroner Bill Demrow raced to the site as part of a local response team, he got a cell phone call from his wife, Debbie.
"She said, `Bill, pull over ... pull over and stop.' "
Recounting the story a year later, Demrow had to pause a moment to regain his composure.
"She said, `Bill, Bobbie and Clark are on that plane.' "
Bobbie and Clark Benton were Demrow's sister and brother-in-law; they were heading to Aruba for a vacation.
After dealing with the immediate shock, Demrow said, he and his wife "talked and ... prayed about it, and we came to the conclusion that I would be better off there (at the scene), helping my sister and her husband and other families, than I would be coming back home, sitting here for the next three days, wondering what's going on."
So while his wife went to be with the Bentons' two grown children, Bill Demrow continued to the crash site, where he kept mum about his personal connections, knowing he would be sent home if anyone knew.
"I would do it again," he said recently. "It's where I belonged; it's where I was supposed to be. ... And I've had other family members that lost loved ones on that plane tell me that they were glad I was there. They thought that my being there, with my vested interest, assured them that their families were taken care of also."
Demrow, who is a partner in Barnett, Demrow & Fox Funeral Home in Stanford, often passes the Bentons' graves when handling funerals at Buffalo Springs Cemetery in Stanford.
It can't be avoided, he said, any more than the well-meaning people who still inquire about the tragedy.
"You run to Wal-Mart and you'll see four people there who'll all bring it up to you — how sorry they are," Demrow said. "It's just a constant bombardment of reminders."
Clark and Bobbie Benton had been sweethearts since growing up together at Stanford. His career in the Marine Corps took them all over the world, Bill Demrow said, but after he retired a few years ago, they moved back home.
"Through the whole 20-some year career, Bobbie missed being at home and was so happy when they finally moved back here," he said.
"Many times she'd remark that she'd missed out on so much family by being away. And when she got back, she hosted the Thanksgivings and Christmases. ... We'd say, `We'll take turns.' She'd say, `No, I'll do this. I've missed the last 20.' "
COMAIR 5191: A YEAR LATER
Bobbie Benton, 50, and Jesse Clark Benton, 48
Stanford
'Bombardment of reminders'
Moments after the crash of Comair Flight 5191, as Lincoln County Coroner Bill Demrow raced to the site as part of a local response team, he got a cell phone call from his wife, Debbie.
"She said, `Bill, pull over ... pull over and stop.' "
Recounting the story a year later, Demrow had to pause a moment to regain his composure.
"She said, `Bill, Bobbie and Clark are on that plane.' "
Bobbie and Clark Benton were Demrow's sister and brother-in-law; they were heading to Aruba for a vacation.
After dealing with the immediate shock, Demrow said, he and his wife "talked and ... prayed about it, and we came to the conclusion that I would be better off there (at the scene), helping my sister and her husband and other families, than I would be coming back home, sitting here for the next three days, wondering what's going on."
So while his wife went to be with the Bentons' two grown children, Bill Demrow continued to the crash site, where he kept mum about his personal connections, knowing he would be sent home if anyone knew.
"I would do it again," he said recently. "It's where I belonged; it's where I was supposed to be. ... And I've had other family members that lost loved ones on that plane tell me that they were glad I was there. They thought that my being there, with my vested interest, assured them that their families were taken care of also."
Demrow, who is a partner in Barnett, Demrow & Fox Funeral Home in Stanford, often passes the Bentons' graves when handling funerals at Buffalo Springs Cemetery in Stanford.
It can't be avoided, he said, any more than the well-meaning people who still inquire about the tragedy.
"You run to Wal-Mart and you'll see four people there who'll all bring it up to you — how sorry they are," Demrow said. "It's just a constant bombardment of reminders."
Clark and Bobbie Benton had been sweethearts since growing up together at Stanford. His career in the Marine Corps took them all over the world, Bill Demrow said, but after he retired a few years ago, they moved back home.
"Through the whole 20-some year career, Bobbie missed being at home and was so happy when they finally moved back here," he said.
"Many times she'd remark that she'd missed out on so much family by being away. And when she got back, she hosted the Thanksgivings and Christmases. ... We'd say, `We'll take turns.' She'd say, `No, I'll do this. I've missed the last 20.' "
Bobbie Benton, 50, and Jesse Clark Benton, 48
Stanford
'Bombardment of reminders'
Moments after the crash of Comair Flight 5191, as Lincoln County Coroner Bill Demrow raced to the site as part of a local response team, he got a cell phone call from his wife, Debbie.
"She said, `Bill, pull over ... pull over and stop.' "
Recounting the story a year later, Demrow had to pause a moment to regain his composure.
"She said, `Bill, Bobbie and Clark are on that plane.' "
Bobbie and Clark Benton were Demrow's sister and brother-in-law; they were heading to Aruba for a vacation.
After dealing with the immediate shock, Demrow said, he and his wife "talked and ... prayed about it, and we came to the conclusion that I would be better off there (at the scene), helping my sister and her husband and other families, than I would be coming back home, sitting here for the next three days, wondering what's going on."
So while his wife went to be with the Bentons' two grown children, Bill Demrow continued to the crash site, where he kept mum about his personal connections, knowing he would be sent home if anyone knew.
"I would do it again," he said recently. "It's where I belonged; it's where I was supposed to be. ... And I've had other family members that lost loved ones on that plane tell me that they were glad I was there. They thought that my being there, with my vested interest, assured them that their families were taken care of also."
Demrow, who is a partner in Barnett, Demrow & Fox Funeral Home in Stanford, often passes the Bentons' graves when handling funerals at Buffalo Springs Cemetery in Stanford.
It can't be avoided, he said, any more than the well-meaning people who still inquire about the tragedy.
"You run to Wal-Mart and you'll see four people there who'll all bring it up to you — how sorry they are," Demrow said. "It's just a constant bombardment of reminders."
Clark and Bobbie Benton had been sweethearts since growing up together at Stanford. His career in the Marine Corps took them all over the world, Bill Demrow said, but after he retired a few years ago, they moved back home.
"Through the whole 20-some year career, Bobbie missed being at home and was so happy when they finally moved back here," he said.
"Many times she'd remark that she'd missed out on so much family by being away. And when she got back, she hosted the Thanksgivings and Christmases. ... We'd say, `We'll take turns.' She'd say, `No, I'll do this. I've missed the last 20.' "
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