Patricia (Jakso) Benton

Patricia Jakso Benton, a career educator and family anchor, passed away on Friday, September 3, 2021. Pat was born May 31, 1950 in Denison, Iowa to Lucille and John Jakso and grew up in the nearby town of Schleswig, Iowa. She received her B.S. degree in Elementary Education at the University of South Dakota, where she formed lifelong bonds with her Chi Omega sisters. Later she earned an M.S. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and finally a license from the University of New Mexico as an Educational Diagnostician. She began her teaching career in Coolidge, Arizona, where she met and married a young officer at nearby Williams Air Force base, Dan Benton, after year teaching in Melbourne, Australia. For the next 23 years she taught wherever the Air Force sent them; California, Texas, Florida, Maryland, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Virginia. When Dan retired in 2001, they returned to New Mexico where she completed her career with Albuquerque Public Schools. Her favorite pastimes included reading, swimming, gardening, yoga, walking, and most of all, traveling to National Parks, Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and Monuments. She was active with the Friends of the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico SiteWatch, and the Cactus and Succulent Society of New Mexico. She is survived by her husband, Colonel Dan Benton, USAF (ret.), her brother Charles Jakso, (Alice), her nephew Staff Sergeant Jeff Jakso, USA, (Mary Alice), and her nephew Ken Jakso (Scalla). She will be greatly missed by Dan's family as well, where she was an instant hit so many years ago. Should friends desire, memorial contributions may be made to the Schleswig Public Library, 202 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 306, Schleswig, IA 51461.