Jean Houston Benison, 95, mother of Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Past President Thomas Houston, MD, FAAFP, passed away peacefully on September 16.
Born in Star, MS, in her grandmother’s house, Jean was the daughter of schoolteachers. The family lived in several small towns in Mississippi before settling in Bay Springs, MS, in the late 1930s. She met her future husband in her teens, and they were married in 1950 in Estes Park, CO, where they worked as counselors at the YMCA Camp of the Rockies—a wedding that was a surprise to friends and family.
Jean was a proud graduate of Mississippi State College, where she ranked 10th in a class of 400. In the 1950s, she raised her two children, Thomas and Diana, in Honduras and Cuba, where her husband worked. Despite the challenges of living in foreign countries, she learned new languages and customs, and even learned to drive in Havana, navigating its chaotic streets and aggressive drivers.
Following the Cuban Revolution and the rise of Fidel Castro, the family returned to the South and settled in Sylvarena, MS. Jean resumed her teaching career, becoming a beloved English and Spanish teacher at schools in Bay Springs; Raleigh, NC; and the Sylva-Bay Academy.
After the death of her first husband in 1985, Jean remarried to Verdell Benison a few years later. They shared many happy years together before Verdell’s passing in 2001. Jean continued to live on the family farm until 2011, when she moved to Dublin, OH, to be closer to family.
Jean was known for her strength, kindness, and warmth. A devout Christian, she was an active member of the Methodist church in Sylvarena and the nearby Walnut Grove church near her home in Mississippi. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, flower arranging, and was renowned for her culinary skills.
She is survived by her two children, Diana Kimbrel and Dr. Houston; two grandsons; and two great-grandchildren. Jean will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the OAFP Foundation (Foundation) in her memory.
The OAFP has made a donation to the Foundation in Jean’s memory.