Violet Louise Benson, 83 of La Crosse, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 4, 2014 with her family by her side at Bethany St. Joseph Care Center. She was born August 17, 1931 to Matt and Helen (Shaw) Schaefer in Neillsville. Over time, the family eventually moved to La Crosse. She graduated from Logan High School on June 8, 1950. She married Kenneth Gardner on September 16, 1950. Together, they had two children, Ginger and John. They later divorced. She married Robert (Bob) Benson on September 14, 1954 and they celebrated over 56 years together. They had two daughters, Tammy and Lynn. Violet was an excellent cook and that led her to spend most of her working life in food service. Her first job was working at the restaurant her mother owned, the Chicken Kitchen on Rose Street on the north side of La Crosse where she worked from 1962 until 1969 when the restaurant burned down due to an electrical fire. She was hired as the assistant chef for the Trane Company executive dining room in June 1972. One of the things she enjoyed most about her job there was when Trane would host international executives and she would get to meet many people from other countries. She retired from Trane in October of 1986. Retirement was okay at first but Violet was not the kind to just sit around so later she took a part-time job at Northern Engraving just to give her something to do and to be around other people, which she truly enjoyed. One of her greatest joys was her West Highland White Terriers. Over the course of 30 years, she and Bob had four Westies " Frosty, Annie, Misty and Krystal. They brought a great deal of joy and happiness into their lives during those years. They truly were the light of their lives. She took great care and pride in decorating her home. She always would decorate it for the different seasons. No matter what the season, it would look beautiful. Her Christmas trees looked like the kind you would see on display in a department store window. She truly had a knack for decorating her home. She also enjoyed decorating her big pine tree in the front yard for Christmas. The lights were placed on the tree with precision and many people commented on how beautiful the tree looked. She enjoyed it when people would slowly drive by the house to look at the tree as well as her other holiday decorations. She also had a great love of music (all types). Quite often, she would just sit and listen to music. In her younger days, she enjoyed dancing at the Avalon. At BSJ, her and her daughter Tammy would go and listen to the Grumpy Old Men when they would come and play at the nursing home each month. She enjoyed the big band sound. She enjoyed outside activities. She had huge flower and vegetable gardens in her earlier years. She also loved bird watching. She kept her birdbath clean so it would attract different birds. She had many books about birds and could easily identify many of them the rest of us couldn"t. She enjoyed just sitting on the carport enjoying a warm summer' evening. She also loved putting jig-saw puzzles together as well as doing word game puzzles. She loved to read books (as well as scandal sheets). She loved playing cards, especially Euchre, and board games, especially Yahtzee. We never saw anyone who could get a Yahtzee as easily as she could. She was very lucky when it came to that. She also enjoyed the many different trips her and Bob had taken together. Some of the places they went to were Charleston, South Carolina, Disney World and Sea World in Florida, the Black Hills, the Smoky Mountains, Texas, Mexico, California, Mackinac Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina to name a few. In their later years, Bob and Violet would "go on their rides" around the area to see different things and try different restaurants. When they would do this, it was funny to see the two little gray heads sticking up in the seats. That way, we could tell it was them. Violet was a very caring and loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt. She is survived by one son John (Barb) Benson, three daughters Ginger (Tom) Tilson, Tammy (Stu) Hyttinen and Lynn (Steve) Hockenbery, her sister LaVonne (Don) Wateski, eight grandchildren, Tom Jr. and Jeff (Kamille), Joshua (Courtney) and Dan, and Justin, Chalsee and Brandon as well as 10 great grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren, 3 nieces and 2 nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Bob on March 26, 2011, her parents, her brother Louis Schaefer, her sister Karen Nagle, her infant grandson Adam Hyttinen in 1983, her grandson Jared Benson in 2012 and her brother-in-law James Brown. The family would like to extend a special thank you to her wonderful nurses. But most of all, to the RCT' who cared for her on a daily basis during her nearly six years at BSJ. They are the ones who spent the majority of the time with her. With their gentle words, caring hands and compassionate hearts, her time there was much better and they made it as comfortable as they could for her. The RCT' are the true heart of the nursing home. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, December 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Olivet Lutheran Church, 2100 Bainbridge Street on French Island. Reverend Luanne Sorenson will officiate. A luncheon will be served after the service with burial following at Mormon Coulee Memorial Park. Friends may call from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service on Tuesday. A visitation will also be held at the Dickinson Funeral Home, 809 Gillette Street in La Crosse from 5:00 until 7:00 on Monday, December 8. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be given to Olivet Lutheran Church, the St. Jude Children' Research Hospital or the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Information and online condolences may be given to the family at www.dickinsonfuneralhome.com.