Helene K. Benson

Helene Antonia "Toni" Kraus Benson died on February 12, 2018 in Clemson, South Carolina. She was born on August 5, 1927 in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, to Edward Louis Kraus and Anna Corey Kraus. She is survived by her sons Richard (Leslie) and Eric (Lisa); grandchildren Ted (Grace), Alex, Stephanie, James, Kenneth and Corey (Michelle) Benson, and Emily (Will) Martin; 3 great-grandchildren Everest Benson, Lucy Martin and Amelia Martin; and sister Gretchen (Thomas) Burroughs. She was predeceased by her husband Willard R. Benson, and their son W. Todd (Tami) Benson.

Toni grew up in Slatington, Pennsylvania and moved to Dover, New Jersey while she was in high school, where she met Willard. She graduated from Douglass College, the Women's College at Rutgers University, and married Willard shortly thereafter in 1949. She spent most of her career as an elementary school teacher. She loved teaching, and her students loved her. She was an avid pianist and singer, and had fond memories of singing three- and four-part harmony in her college choral group, The Weepies. Toni loved dogs, and had several beloved Cairn Terriers throughout her life.

After years of working, raising their boys and volunteering with various community organizations, Willard and Toni retired to Hilton Head, South Carolina in 1986. Toni spent many happy years there playing tennis, entertaining friends, playing piano and volunteering in after-school programs. In 2007, Willard and Toni moved to Clemson, South Carolina.

Toni's family wishes to thank the many kind nurses and staff at the Sterling House, Clemson Downs Health Care Center, and Providence Care Hospice for their excellent and compassionate care. They also wish to thank the parish family at Saint Andrew Catholic Church for the steadfast love and support they shared with Toni in her final years. A funeral mass in celebration of Toni's life will be held on April 21 at 10:00 at Saint Andrew Catholic Church in Clemson, South Carolina. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at https://www.aspca.org/ or Saint Andrew Catholic Church at http://saclemson.org/.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or at Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central, SC.