Services will be held in Felton this Saturday, June 30, for Isabel K. Benscoter, who died at home in Scotts Valley at the age of 97. She was known as “Yaya” to her grandchildren and friends.
Mrs. Benscoter was born to Frank Kinsey and Alice Rider Higbie in Springfield Gardens, N.Y., as the third of six children.
She worked 15 years for Lockheed in New York, where she met and married her late husband, Clyde O. Benscoter.
An active member of Felton Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Benscoter kept a journal noting the hundreds of books she read over the past several years. She enjoyed participating in hiking groups and an antique club, played whist with friends and loved gardening. Relatives said she did beautiful needlework. Last summer, at 96, she traveled from coast to coast via motor home with her friend Sandy Pearsall.
Mrs. Benscoter is survived by her daughter, Bonnie Maragos of Santa Cruz; son, Donald and his wife, Johanna Seymour, of Gainesville, Ga.; sisters-in-law Catherine Kinsey and Ada Mae Kinsey of Long Island, N.Y.; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Saturday’s memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. at Felton Presbyterian Church, 6090 Highway 9.
Contributions in Mrs. Benscoter’s name may be sent to the Visiting Nurses Association of Santa Cruz County, 2880 Soquel Ave., Ste. 10, Santa Cruz, CA 95062; or to Felton Presbyterian Church, 6090 Highway 9, Felton, CA 95018.
