Obituary of Jean LaVonne Benedict

It takes a big heart to help shape little minds”- Unknown Jean Lavonne Benedict was above all an educator. She began her teaching career in 1960 in Truesdale, Iowa. She taught in classrooms in West Branch, IA, Iowa City, IA, Pacific Grove, CA, Westbury, NY, Olympia, WA and Shelton, WA. Her love of children resonated loud and clear. As a young mother she launched various cooperative preschools in an old burned down estate in NY, a friend’s cabin in Olympia, WA and eventually the Shelton cooperative preschool originally in Kamilche, WA. She spent her retirement years volunteering in her friends and grandchildren’s classrooms in Olympia and Shelton, including Bordeaux, Pioneer, Mt. View, Griffin, Hansen, Garfield, and Marshall Middle School’s. Known to many as a beloved teacher, Jean was also a patron of the arts, a treasured local volunteer, a faithful member of the Shelton United Methodist Church, and a devoted grandmother and mother to many. From the words of her closest friend “She was a remarkable person, always kind, caring, positive, capable, funny and much more . . . she was a joy to be around.” Jean passed away on November 21, 2020 of natural causes at the age of 81.She was born July 5, 1939 in Correctionville, Iowa to George and Mary Rutter, where she spent her early life as farm girl near Tilden Township, Iowa until graduating in 1957 from Grand Meadow School as one of 10 total students in the graduating class. She spent time a youth on her family farm, enjoying time with her many cousins, training to play classical piano and the French horn, and as an athlete playing basketball, softball, and volleyball while faithfully attending the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church near Marcus, Iowa. She then attended Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, IA where she studied early education and where she met and married a young scientist Lawrence Eickstaedt who lured her away from Iowa in pursuit of higher education opportunities. Jean and Larry lived in Storm Lake, IA, West Branch, IA, Palo Alto, CA where their son John was born in 1964, Monterey, CA, the College of old Westbury in Long Island, NY, before settling in near Olympia, WA where Larry took a position as one of the first faculty of the Evergreen State College. They eventually bought a small farm outside of Shelton, WA while adding two more children to the family Chris in 1970 and Rachel in 1975. She loved her life on the farm where she spent quality time with her children, time with the many animals, evenings hosting dinner parties for staff and friends from the Evergreen State College community, weekends enjoying the outdoors and the northwest beaches, and as much time as possible with her new neighbors and lifelong good friends Mark and Sheila Schmidt of Shelton, WA. Jean joined the Shelton United Methodist Church (SUMC) soon after moving to Shelton, where years later she met husband Eugene Benedict while singing in the church choir. She and Eugene were beloved members of the SUMC community. Over the years she spent her time promoting the choir, the organ, the bell choir and the many youth programs. She was a member of the ​ Shelton United Methodist Women, Eve-Circle and an immense advocate of SUMC Soup and Sound and Vacation Bible School. After several years of teaching and eventually gaining a Master’s Degree in education from Portland State University she retired from teaching in the mid 90’s to spend time with her grandchildren and to begin years of traveling adventures with her husband Eugene. They road- tripped for years to visit family and to see the beautiful parts of the North America, including several trips to Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Tennessee, Alaska, Florida, and eventually made Jean’s dream trip and drove to Maine in the fall to watch the colors change. She was also an avid sports fan, especially college and high school sports. She was also a lifetime supporter of the Seattle Supersonics, the Mariners, and the Seahawks. She was the number one fan for each of her children, grandchildren, and neighbors, attending thousands of youth football, baseball, basketball and volleyball games and often practices over the years. She was a long-time supporter of the Shelton High School booster club where she promoted and supported all extra-curricular activities for local students. Among her passions was the love of the performing arts, including advocating to bring Junior Programs to Shelton, a theater experience for all local students to attend each year. She attended many Broadway musicals with her family in Seattle and was a patron to local theatre companies in Shelton and Olympia. She hosted many local traveling groups in her home over the years, and supported all musical and performing arts opportunities for her children and grandchildren. Her grandchildren all speak of their favorite memories of attending the Singing Christmas Tree each year with grandma. Jean wrote the following for her 80 th birthday celebration: “I was thinking about a line from Fiddler on the Roof it starts “If I were a rich man.” Would I have grown up on a small farm in Iowa with two fine parents, George and Mary who worked hard to make a better life for their family? They sent me to school, even when the going was tough, for what they hoped would be a better life for me. I was fortunate to become a teacher and touch many lives and for that I will always be grateful. So “If I were a rich man,” I feel as though I am among the richest of the rich.” She was preceded in death by husband, Eugene Benedict, her parents, her brother Douglas Rutter, and her sister-in-law Carol Rutter. She is survived by her children, John and Chris Eickstaedt of Shelton, WA and Rachel Dreon and her children Roger Schuettke, Mason Dreon and Cooper Dreon of Olympia, WA; siblings Tom (Linda) Rutter of Cherokee, Iowa, and Betty Rutter of Marcus, Iowa; step-children Cheryl Grandstaff and Eugenia Wilson of Norton, OH, Jo Benedict of Algona, WA, Dennis Benedict (Joyce) of Holland, MI, Tony Benedict (Prapha) of Shelton, WA, including 9 step-grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and soon to be 3 great great grandchildren; and extended family Bonnie Irwin of Marcus, Iowa and Nancy and Maxcell Spriggs of Kingsley, Iowa. ​ A memorial service will be planned at the Shelton United Methodist Church at a later date. A graveside service will be held in Marcus, Iowa sometime during summer 2021. To view Jean’s photo tribute or to offer online condolences to the family, please visit: www.tributearchive.com.