William "Bill" C. Benesh | July 12, 1949 - October 12, 2021
Obituaries-Pierre / Posted Oct 13, 2021 | 1:14 PM / 416 views
William Carl Benesh was born in Pierre and lived nearly his entire life in the home his mother, Evelyn Benesh, and father, Alvin Benesh, built at 120 S. Adams. As he grew up, it was filled with piano music from his mother’s many, many students and his father’s plans and patents for things like wind turbines. That home was filled with books and paper shredders in his last years there. Books on philosophy, art, Greeks and Romans, books by Milton and Dante and books about books.
Bill always was most comfortable there, and when he went into Maryhouse after his fall 22 months ago he always hoped to go back to 120 S. Adams.
While Bill was at the nursing facility he began to adjust and made it his new home. He did that by making friends with the staff there. Not by moving stuff into his room or decorating the walls. His wry sense of humor and his gentleman speech and manners made it easier for the friends at Maryhouse to help Bill. The time he spent there was a time of fellowship with people that he would have never had, with the pandemic that isolates.
As much as he loved 120 S. Adams and despite his friends/caretakers at Maryhouse, Bill made his last move October 12, 2021. His new home in heaven was prepared by Jesus and secured by Bill’s faith and trust in Christ (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4). Intellectually, that was a long and arduous task for Bill to arrive at. He often doubted his salvation, because he could not hold his faith like a page in a book, but he depended on Christ’s finished work on his behalf. He saw that love was more than something to read about. He witnessed it from Harvey and Leonore, Trish and Doug, LuAnn, Jill, Andi, Courtney, Erica, Scott, Gaye, Randall and others. God’s grace came from His love for Bill and he understood that.
Bill loves his new home. His knowledge is complete, his pains are gone. The books that were so important to him last year, no longer hold value for him. Bill is so happy now; He rests in Christ. Please trust in Jesus, then you can visit with him one day.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Church of Hope at the South Dakota Women’s Prison or to The Gideons International.
