Vigil Service: Monday, November 7, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.
Funeral Mass: November 8, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Rite of Committal: Calvary Cemetery Verna
Benasky, age 87, of Miles City passed away on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at Holy Rosary Health Center in Miles City.
Verna was born on June 4, 1918 along with her twin brother Vernon, on the family ranch, South of Miles City on Pratt Creek, one of eight children born to Don and Hannah (Voet) Cotton. The family moved to Miles City where Verna attended public schools, graduating from Custer County High School in 1937. She went directly into nurses training at Holy Rosary School of Nursing, graduating in 1940. Verna accepted a job as the head Nurse for the county hospital, where she stayed until August of 1942 when she entered the Army Nurse Corp. After nine months of training she went to Fort Bragg, South Carolina to join the 347th Station Hospital. It was during World War II that she served in England where she served always near airports as they took care of casualties off the battlefield. Verna said Although I would not want to go through those experiences again, I was never sorry for a minute that I could help in my own small way. After 28 months in the Army Nurse Corp., Verna returned to the US in May of 1945. She met her husband, Leonard Benasky while in the service. They were married on January 7, 1947 and they decided Miles City was where they wanted to raise a family. They were blessed with three sons and a daughter, whom they lost in a highway accident.
Verna dedicated her life to her familyfirst, and her nursing profession second. In 1970, Verna and her husband started a newsstand which they ran for approximately 10 years. After their children were grown, they started touring on Gold Wing Motorcycles. Over the next 18 years, they traveled approximately 185,000 miles covering Western and Southern United States and Western Canada.
Verna was a member of the Women in Military Service for America, Meals on Wheels, Soroptimist Club, Montana State Nurses Association, A.A.R.P, VFW, Sacred Heart Church, and the St. Francis Alter Society. She held offices in the American Legion Auxiliary, Miles City Home Extension, Range Riders Reps, and St. Vincent DePaul Society. Her latest interest was as a Convent Keeper.
Verna is survived by three sons: Don JosephBenasky of Sheridan, WY; Robert Benasky of Vallejo, CA; and Ed Benasky of Helena, MT; three grandchildren: Brook, Brad, and Alene Odette Benasky and three great grandchildren: Cheyenne, Tara, and Breanna.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Leonard; her daughter Mary Lou and a granddaughter, Brenda.
Should friends desire, memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice.
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