Obituary of Viola Benson

Viola was born Sept. 25, 1921 in Cidar Glades Arkansas, to Daniel Monroe Caldwell and Ethel (Pitts) Caldwell. She was the third child born of six. Viola was seven the family moved to Colorado. They settled in the farming community of Byers. Viola went to a country school north of Byers where she went thru the 8th grade. She never went to High School but rather stayed home and helped her parents on the farm. Viola went to work for Lillie Swanson at the Coronado Café around 1941, later Lillies nephew Paul Benson came out from Iowa to work in the filling station next door to the Café that is how Viola met Paul. He rented a room at the Café which had hotel rooms upstairs and their friendship started. Paul came down with the measles and Viola was the only one who had already had them, so she took care of Paul. Paul returned to Iowa after that where he had a job waiting for him on a farm owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Streicher. Two months later Viola took the train to Iowa and then met Paul's parents. Paul and Viola went down to Queens City, Missouri, bought a marriage license and found a minister and were married in the ministers home on June 15, 1942. They lived in a two room house and Viola helped out the Streichers while Paul helped farm. Viola was a hard worker and Mary Streicher became a second mother to her, Paul and Viola worked for the Streichers for four years. Paul and Viola's daughter Marjorie Elaine was born on February 22, 1945. They moved back to Colorado in 1946 where Paul worked for Robert Carlson and lived in a three room house till Marjorie turned eleven when they moved into a bigger house. Viola helped Paul in several side lines like raising tame rabbits, chickens, and dogs at different times. When Marjorie started school in 1951, Viola decided to start working out to help out financially. Various jobs from 1952 to 1984 were waitress, Gambles store in Strasburg, and Drug stores in both Byers and Strasburg, OEA and several other jobs. Paul and Viola did everything together and loved gardening and raising flowers. They moved to Strasburg in 1982 to a house they had purchased ten years earlier. Viola volunteered at the Museum there for five years. Paul passed away in 1997 and Viola stayed on in the house in Strasburg. Viola was a member of the Triangle club for 36 years, member of the Comanche VIP's for 47 years. Due to health problems Viola was moved to Carla’s Cluster Care in Limon, Colo. in July of 2007. She loved it there and everyone was good to take care of her. She lived there until she passed away on April 1, 2015. Viola was preceded in Death by her parents, Daniel Monroe Caldwell and Ethel (Pitts) Caldwell, two sisters, Ava Dell (Caldwell) Morgan, Eulah Caldwell, one brother, Sherman Caldwell. She is survived by her Daughter Marjorie, (George) Slater, Grand Daughter Connie Ozburn, (Slater), her husband Kevin Ozburn, and sisters Fern Palmer, Edith Dodge, and a host of nieces and nephews.