Virginia Benjamin

  Our mother, Virginia Mary Benjamin, was born to John and Ethel (Mosier) VanSlyke on March 23, 1928, at Tonasket WA near the Wauconda Valley where her parents had homesteaded in 1902. Mom grew up behind the Wauconda store and post office, where her dad was the shopkeeper and postmaster. Virginia was the youngest of 11 brothers and sisters, and her parents died shortly after she entered adulthood.
  Virginia had many adventures as a teenager, including living with her oldest sister Hazel Mercer in Seattle during World War II and hitchhiking to Kentucky and back to escort our father after he was released from the Army after World War II. Mom had a lifelong love for animals that began with owning and caring for horses, which she rode bareback as a teenager.
  After a brief marriage to Charles Merrill, with whom she had a daughter who lived only a few days, Virginia reunited with her first true love, Billy Joe Willis. Mom and Dad’s romance lasted for nearly 30 years. They brought five children into the world before separating in 1969.
  In 1970 Virginia and her three youngest children moved to Ferndale, where she married Howard Benjamin in 1972.
  Mom had a full and varied work life. She owned a tavern in Riverside WA and worked for many years as a waitress, including at the Horseshoe Café in Bellingham. One special childhood memory was of working at the Tonka Toy factory in Minnesota. Virginia was primarily known as the “Avon Lady” for 50-plus years. She volunteered for more than 20 years at the Ferndale Senior Center, earning her several awards and praises as “Queen of the Front Desk.” Mom was a member of the United Church of Ferndale where she was baptized.
  She had a great love for her five children. Her only wish was a last family reunion with all five of us, which took place on her 90th birthday in 2018. She enjoyed her flower gardens, her numerous cats (most recent one being Thumper), a dog named Benji, and golfing with Howard. As she became home-ridden, Mom’s focus turned to the many birds she fed outside her windows and her hanging flower baskets.
  Mom is survived by four children: Billy Joe Willis Jr. of Riverside, Mary Howell (Robert) of Forks, Charles “Chuck” Willis (Janice) of Ferndale, and Craig Willis (Kai) of Eugene OR; stepchildren Melodi Miles of Spokane and Robert Benjamin (Goldie) of Aurora OR. Virginia had numerous nieces and nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-greats.
  She was preceded in death by her husbands and her oldest son, Arlie E. “Pete” Willis (Zae) of Yakima.
  Our mom passed peacefully on April 30, 2021, in her home of 50 years with her children by her side.
You never said ‘I’m leaving’
You never said ‘goodbye’
You were gone before we knew it
And only God knows why
In life we loved you dearly
In death we love you still
In our heart we hold a place
That only you can fill
It breaks our heart to lose you
But you didn’t go ‘alone’
  In lieu of flowers, Mom’s special request was that donations be directed to the Ferndale Senior Activity Center or Whatcom Hospice.
  Please share your memories of Virginia at www.molesfarewelltributes.com.