Obituary of Helen Bensen

On the morning of Friday, March 20, 2020, Helen Ann Bensen, loving mother of four children, and grandmother of many, went to be with the Lord at the age of 84. Helen was born in 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, to Margaret and Frederick Kramer, and was a long-time resident of North Merrick, New York. Helen had a passion for family and service. After the untimely death of her beloved husband, Edwin C. Bensen, Jr., in 1983, she courageously raised four children in their North Merrick home, providing steadfast guidance, love, and support. In 1986, she began her unexpected twenty-five-year career in public service as a talented administrative assistant, retiring from Wellington C. Mepham High School in 2011. Few can report working full time until age 76 with zest and commitment, but Helen did. She found her service to the educators and students of Bellmore and Merrick highly rewarding and loved applying her fine eye for detail. Nevertheless, Helen's greatest joy was gathering with her children, celebrating their accomplishments, to include graduations and marriages, and as the family happily expanded over the years, celebrating the baptisms, confirmations, and graduations of her grandchildren. Christmas at Helen's house was always spectacular, with traditional foods, including those of her Swedish and German ancestries, thoughtfully chosen gifts, her music box collection, and heartfelt exchanges with family members. In her quiet times, Helen also enjoyed and excelled in the creative arts—painting with watercolors, knitting and crochet, needlepoint, and playing piano. Keepsakes of her life abound. Helen is survived by her four children, Sonja Bensen of Alexandria, Virginia; her son and daughter-in-law Mark and Christine Bensen of Snohomish, Washington; her son and daughter-in-law Eric and Maya Bensen of Garden City, New York; and daughter and son-in-law Christina and Michael Locke, of St. Charles, Missouri. She is also survived by a host of grandchildren and her brother Robert Kramer of York, Maine. She loved her husband's family and all who married into the family as her own flesh and blood, and will be greatly missed by all. The burial will take place at Greenfield Cemetery, Uniondale, New York, on Monday, March 30th. The family plans a public memorial service and celebration when appropriate.