It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our outstanding mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and friend to all. Mary lived to 96 years young; so did her mother and her grandmother. Wishing you all such a long and happy life!
Mary was born in the small village of Hranovnica, Slovakia. She was one of two daughters born to John and Mary Kikta. John was a tailor and Mary’s mother was a homemaker and farmer. Mary was only 1/2 years old when her father borrowed money and went to Canada to make a better life for his family. Single mother, Mary Kikta, and her two daughters lived and worked on her parent’s farm in Hranovnica. It took 20 years for John to make enough money to pay back the loan for his trip to Canada and enough to bring over his wife and daughter. For all of that time, the family suffered through the depression and WW2 separately. By the time, Mary and her mother were able to move to Canada, Mary’s sister was already married and had 3 children and, so, decided to stay in Slovakia. Imagine meeting your father when you’re 21 years old!
Mary’s father bought a 2-acre farm in the Bridgeview area of Surrey. He and daughter, Mary, worked hard in the plywood and lumber mills there and saved enough money to build a small apartment building across from the Slovak catholic church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, in New Westminster and were one of the founding families of the church.
Mary met and married Frank Benes and had 5 beautiful children: Frank, John, Joan, Katherine (Kat) and Anton. With the help of Mary’s parents, the Benes family bought a home in north Surrey.
The family continued to be very active in the church and, again, with her parents’ help, the children attended catholic school. Mary was busy 24/7, caring for her 5 children, attending all school functions, driving on field trips, and going to and from sports events. Mary was her children’s number one fan. She supported them in all their endeavors’.
One by one, Mary’s children got married and had children of their own. At this time, Mary started to answer to the name of ‘Grandma B.’ Frank and Ann had Nicole (Nic) and Eric. John and Cindy had Alana and Alexandra (Aly). Joan and Ron had Kirsten and Katherine (Katie). Anton and Lisa had Joshua (Josh) and Riley. Kat married Fred and had two stepsons, Blair and Lee and two step-granddaughters, Ember and Malaya. John’s daughter, Alana with Becky, gave Grandma B. a beautiful great-granddaughter, Elizabeth (Elle).
Mary celebrated both her 80th and 90th birthday's at Sts. Cyril and Methodius. For her 95th, the family had a small party in the meeting room in the Dr. Al Hogg Pavilion at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock. She passed there comfortably in her sleep. Mary is predeceased by her parents, John and Mary Kikta, her sister and nephew Johanna and Peter Vranka, and her daughter-in-law, Ann Benes. She will be very sadly missed and forever remembered by her children; Frank (Neala), John (Deborah), Joan, Kat (Fred), and Anton (Lisa), and her grandchildren; Nic and Eric (Megan), Alana (Becky) and Aly, Kirsten (Jackson) and Katie, Josh and Riley, and her step-grandsons, Blair and Lee, and a great-grandchild, Elle and two step-great-granddaughters, Ember and Malaya.
For those who wish, a contribution in Mary Benes' memory may be made with appreciation to the Peace Arch Hospital Auxiliary Society (https://paha.ca)
Prayers will be held Thursday, January 4th, at 7:00 p.m. and the funeral on Friday, January 5th at 10:00 a.m. at Ste. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, 472 E 8th Ave. New Westminster, BC.