Bonnie Benedict

Bonnie Benedict grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduation from Lynchburg College with a B.A. in Elementary Education, she returned to her hometown for her first teaching job. Then, after five years there, she came back to Lynchburg, joining the staff at Linkhorne Elementary School. She met Bruce Benedict, a nuclear engineer at B&W, on a blind date, and over the winter break they met up again when he offered her a ride back to Lynchburg from northern Virginia. When Bruce proposed on April 1, Bonnie noted that it was April Fool’s Day and therefore requested an encore proposal on April 2. Bruce complied, and they were married on the Fourth of July in 1974.

Bonnie earned a Master’s degree in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia and entered a new career field when she became the full-time Director of activities for children and youth at First Baptist Church. She later became the Executive Director of Lynchburg’s Churches for Urban Ministry, serving until her retirement. She is a longtime member and office-holder in the Lynchburg Branch of the American Association of University Women and a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, the international honorary organization for teachers. She is an active member of Peakland Baptist Church and has served as Youth Director there.

Bonnie still has a souvenir bracelet from her first trip to New York City when she was nine years old, and she has made many return visits over the years, with her husband and with friends. After Bruce Benedict died in 2006, a December trip to New York has become an annual Christmas holiday event for Bonnie and friends, who travel by Amtrak for four days of concerts, museums, Broadway plays, and holiday high teas. Two current Independent Living residents were her teaching colleagues at Linkhorne Elementary and will be joining other old and new friends in welcoming Bonnie to her new home at Westminster Canterbury.