Lealah "Lee" Catherine Benson

1909 - 2004  (95 years)

• Name	Lealah "Lee" Catherine Benson  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Nickname	Lee
  Born	13 Oct 1909	Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, United States   [1, 2, 5, 6, 7]
  Gender	Female
  Relocation	Abt 1919	, , Colorado, United States   [3]
  	From Iowa
  Relocation	1921	, , Iowa, United States   [3]
  	From Colorado
  Residence	1950	Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States   [3]
  Residence	9 May 1997	Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States   [8]
  Obituary	Abt 10 Jan 2004
  Halff Lee Catherine Benson, a pioneer lady, departed this life on November 4, 2004. Beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Lee was born in Knoxville, Iowa on October 13, 1914, to Mary and Grover Benson. She survived a brother, Leroy, and two sisters, Molly and Shirley. At the age of four, she moved with her family to a 160-acre homestead in Colorado. In 1920, Lee lost her mother in an automobile accident in Colorado. In 1921, after years of crop failures, the family moved back to Iowa. Lee attended high school in northern Minnesota and Saint Paul. She earned her way through the University of Minnesota's Masters degree nursing program, graduating in 1936. However, her nursing career was cut short by a lack of jobs in the Depression. She moved to Chicago and worked at several jobs before becoming a cashier at International House, on the University of Chicago campus. There, she met her future husband, Albert H. Halff, of Richardson, Texas, who was studying for a Master's degree in civil engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. After a courtship of six weeks, they were married, on August 24, 1940. After Albert graduated, the couple lived in Kingsville, Texas, Chicago, Ill, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland, before finally settling in 1950 in Dallas, Texas. In Dallas, Lee was active in Scout work, leading several Cub Scout groups. She was member and president of both the Dallas Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineer's Wives Club and the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers' Wives Club. For many years, she was a volunteer in the emergency room at Parkland Hospital, and was a member of the Parkland Auxiliary until her death. She founded a literary agency, "The Blake Group", and operated it for 17 years, successfully representing many fine authors, including the Texas icon, Frank Goodwin. She also served on the board of the Dallas Theater Center. She was a long-time member of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. She resided in Dallas and San Diego during the last ten years of her life. Lee Benson Halff was a tireless worker and a loving person, with a courageous spirit and a lively sense of humor. She is survived by her husband Albert H. Halff of San Diego, CA and two sons, Henry M. Halff of San Antonio, Texas and Albert Lee (Bro) Halff of San Diego, CA, and a grandson, Lawrence A. Halff of San Francisco, CA. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, 4015 Normandy Dr., at Preston Road, with burial in the Hillcrest Memorial Park on Northwest Highway in Dallas. The body may be viewed at the Forest Lawn Funeral Home at Turtle Creek, 3204 Fairmount, on Friday, November 12 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Gifts to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation, 5005 LBJ Fwy, Ste. 250, Dallas, TX, 75244, the First Unitarian Church, or the Dallas Theater Center.
  Family Search ID	LK9K-GPC
  Family Search Link	https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LK9K-GPC
  Died	4 Nov 2004	Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States   [4]
  Buried	13 Nov 2004	Hillcrest Memorial Park, Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States   [4]
  Person ID	I284	Dale's Tree
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2018

  
  

  Father	Grover Cleveland Benson,   b. 11 Nov 1885, Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, United States ,   d. 11 Feb 1964, Hastings, Adams, Nebraska, United States  (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Mary Belle Wright,   b. 15 Apr 1889, Attica, Marion, Iowa, United States ,   d. 3 Apr 1921, Julesburg, Sedgwick, Colorado, United States  (Age 31 years)
  Married	29 Aug 1905	Bussey, Marion, Iowa, United States   [5, 9]
  Family ID	F89	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Albert Henry Halff,   b. 20 Aug 1915, Midland, Midland, Texas, United States ,   d. Aft 4 Nov 2004  (Age 89 years)
  Married	24 Aug 1940	Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, United States   [2]
  Children	+ 1. Henry Mayer "Lefty" Halff   2. Albert Lee "Bro" Halff   3. Halff,   b. 9 Dec 1946, Myrtle Beach, Horry, South Carolina, United States ,   d. 10 Dec 1946, Myrtle Beach, Horry, South Carolina, United States  (Age 0 years)
  Last Modified	26 Jan 2012
  Family ID	F1117	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Click to hide
  		Born - 13 Oct 1909 - Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, United States Relocation - From Iowa - Abt 1919 - , , Colorado, United States Relocation - From Colorado - 1921 - , , Iowa, United States Married - 24 Aug 1940 - Knoxville, Marion, Iowa, United States Residence - 1950 - Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States Residence - 9 May 1997 - Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States Died - 4 Nov 2004 - Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States Buried - 13 Nov 2004 - Hillcrest Memorial Park, Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S264] Birth Records - IA, Marion, Iowa. Marion., Book 6, 50, Lee Catherine Benson. (Reliability: 3), 7 Mar 2009. [S469] Email - BENSON - Henry Halff, Halff, Henry M., 20110709_Email_Henry Halff to Dale Benson.pdf., 9 Jul 2011>, "Proposed Change: Family: Halff/Lee Catherine Benson," (Reliability: 0), 12 Jul 2011. [S470] Newspapers - TX, Dallas - Unknown Dallas Newspaper, Texas. Dallas., "HALFF". (Reliability: 0), 12 Jul 2011. [S647] Newspapers - Unknown State - Unknown Publisher, Unknown. Unknown., "Halff, Lee Catherine Benson [Obit]". (Reliability: 2), 12 Dec 2013. [S730] Letters - Old Letters Received by W.O. Benson, Various writers Old correspondence (Reliability: 2), 24 Dec 2013. [S213] Census - IA, Marion - 1910 Fed, Iowa, Marion, (www.ancestry.com: National Archives and Records Administration, 2006), T624, roll T624_412, Knoxville, enumeration district (ED) 46, p. 9A, dwelling 165, family 184, Grover C. Benson, accessed 18 Jun 2012 (Reliability: 2), 18 Jun 2012. [S513] Census - IA, Poweshiek - 1920 Fed, Iowa, Poweshiek, (2010: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), T625, roll T625_511, Grinnell, enumeration district (ED) 127, p. 5A, dwelling 107, family 117, Grover C. Benson, accessed 18 Jun 2012 (Reliability: 2), 18 Jun 2012. [S408] Newspapers - OR, Portland - The Orgonian, Oregon. Portland., 8 May 1997. (Reliability: 2). [S194] Newspapers - IA, Marion, Knoxville - The Knoxville Journal, Iowa. Knoxville., "Mrs. G.C. Benson [Obit]," Aft 13 Apr 1921. (Reliability: 2), 11 Dec 2013.