Margaret "Peggy" J. Benson

Margaret “Peggy” J. Benson

Pioneer Alaskan Margaret “Peggy” J. Benson, 87, died peacefully in her sleep at her Palmer home on May 17, 2021.

Visitation will begin at 9:15 am, June 9, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 560 W. Arctic Ave., Palmer. Services will be at 10 am, followed by a reception at the church. Burial will be at Fort Richardson National Cemetery alongside her beloved husband, Alvin A. Benson, who preceded her in death on August 7, 2011.

Peggy was born August 1, 1933, in Marengo County, Wisconsin. She graduated from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, with an associate degree in Education, becoming an elementary school teacher. The greatest adventure of her life began with a blind date set up by her sister Susan – when she met Alvin, recently returned from the Korean War in 1953.

Alaska was always a focal point for Peggy throughout her life. After overhearing her parents’ conversations about moving to become colonists in the 40’s, Peggy was enchanted with the great expanse. With Alvin’s dreams of a place to hunt and fish in the last frontier, it was the perfect match. After marrying in 1954, Alvin moved to Alaska first, and then sent for Peggy and their first child, Brian, in 1955.

They settled in Anchorage a year later and Peggy found work as a secretary at the Anchorage School District. As part of the original staff of Dimond High School (1967 until retirement in 1991), Peggy made her mark on the Alaskan frontier and many Dimond High students.

Peggy never grew out of her farming roots. She was proud of her large and bountiful garden. Her raspberry jam and strawberry rhubarb pies were unparalleled. Peggy was an avid canner and every year one could expect to find canned salmon and moose meat as a gift. As a child of the Great Depression, Peggy’s kindness and gratitude towards life and others was reflected through food and the careful gifts she crafted, leaving nothing to go to waste. You would even find her homemade soap in the bathrooms and laundry.

An artist of many mediums, she was a member of United Alaskan Artists, selling paintings locally. After moving to Palmer in 1991, she joined the Valley Quilters Guild, eventually buying herself a large quilting machine, which not only enabled her to quilt to her heart’s content but also provided finishing touches for hundreds of quilts given to Valley residents.

Socially, she and Alvin also enjoyed being part of the Sons of Norway, and visited relatives in both Sweden and Norway.

Survivors include children, Brian D. Benson (Elise Glover) of Anchorage, John RA Benson (Sally Bentley) of Paris, France, and Anne M. Benson (Shawn Vehlewald) of Palmer; grandchildren, Gunnar Benson (Ashley), Kirstin Boyd (Alex), all of Anchorage, Sophie and Quinn Benson of Paris, Lydia and Zachary Nelson of Palmer; great-grandchildren, Freyja Boyd, Austin Azeltine and Kasen Benson; sisters, Pat Ortman, Glenda Marita, and Susan Boettcher; and brother, Robert “Sonny” Holmes.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the charity of the donor’s choice.