Carolyn K. Benjamin, of Prior Lake, passed away in her home surrounded by her family on August 24, 2016 at the age of 68. A visitation will be held on Friday, August 26, 2016 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, Prior Lake. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 11:00 AM with visitation one-hour prior at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bloomington. Carolyn will be laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Pallbearers for Carolyn are Paige Benjamin, Michael Benjamin, Tom Vogel, Buddhi Ukwaththa, Miguel Benjamin, Jose Benjamin, Mason Vogel, Alejandro Benjamin and honorary pallbearer, Trevor Vogel.
On January 22, 1948, Abraham and Rosa (Gonzalez) Columbus celebrated the birth of their daughter, Carolyn Kay. She was the third of four children and loved growing up in Oklahoma. As a young girl, Carolyn developed a love of reading and a passion for learning. She was a sprinter for her high school track team and valedictorian of her graduating class.
Carolyn’s family was second-generation immigrants from Mexico and always struggled to make ends meet. At just 12 years old, Carolyn worked as a babysitter and housekeeper for an aunt and her children in order to buy her own clothes and school supplies. This established her strong work ethic. After graduating from high school, Carolyn began working at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City. After joining the LDS church, she moved to Utah and began working at Hill Air Force Base. Carolyn quickly fell in love and got married at a very young age, but was soon faced with one of the hardest times of her life. Her new husband left her shortly after they were married and suddenly she found herself alone and pregnant with her first baby. Carolyn developed some health complications, which led to Paige being born very premature. The doctor took Paige and put him in an incubator and sent Carolyn home, in a taxi, and told her that her baby probably would not survive.
Carolyn was a fighter and she was determined to overcome. She eventually got transferred to a new unit at work, where she met her “Officer.” Larry Benjamin turned out to be the love of her life and the two exchanged wedding vows on December 23, 1972. Larry and Carolyn eventually settled in Prior Lake where they raised their four wonderful children, Paige, Michael, Janae and Kristy. Larry and Carolyn were sealed for time and for all eternity in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple, on April 9, 1979.
Carolyn’s faith was the foundation of her life. Larry and Carolyn felt blessed to raise their children in their faith. She was always very active in the church and was a beloved teacher and served many people in her various callings. Carolyn taught Seminary (an early-morning scripture class) for high school students out of her home every morning for 12 years. She cherished all of the time she spent with the youth of her church and had a big impact on many of them.
On top of all the time she spent volunteering at church, Carolyn also worked outside of the home for many years. She started out as a cashier for Cub Foods, but was soon promoted to full time work overseeing the opening of new stores across the state. Carolyn also worked as a regional office manager for Manpower for many years.
No matter what Carolyn was doing, she gave it her all. She was an excellent cook (famous for her chicken broccoli casserole). Carolyn was very artistic and loved to craft. She would knit, crochet, cross stich and paint. She was always very generous with her talents. She often gave many of her beautiful creations away to friends. Carolyn was also a shopping enthusiast and a wonderful writer. She had a green thumb and kept beautiful flower gardens. Carolyn also had a huge passion for doing genealogy work. She not only worked endlessly on her own family history, but she devoted many hours helping others discover their own ancestry.
Carolyn had many hobbies and talents, but the most important things in her life were faith and family. She loved spending time with her husband, children and especially loved being Meemaw to her 16 grandkids. Carolyn was loving, compassionate, generous and had a deep emotional connection with her family. She was a kind lady with a big heart, and she will be deeply missed.
Carolyn will be remembered always by her loving eternal companion, Larry Benjamin; children, Paige (Dulce) Benjamin, Michael (Natalia) Benjamin, Janae (Tom) Vogel, Kristy (Buddhi) Ukwaththa; grandchildren, Isabel, Alejandro, Sofia, Andres, Gabriel, Javier, Miguel, Jose, Amaliya, Michaela, Trevor, Mason, Abigail, Luke, Araliya, Amaya; siblings, Betty Youngs, Linda Price, Ronnie (Julie) Columbus. Carolyn is preceded by her parents, Rosa and Abraham Columbus.
