Obituary of Sharon Donna Benson

Sharon Donna Benson was born on January 30, 1953 to Harry & Grace Benson. The youngest of 5 kids by over a decade, she quickly tapped into her creative self - inspiration which would guide her for her entire life. As a painter & weaver, graphic designer, mother, craft entrepreneur, Life Coach, and Expressive Arts Therapist, Sharon never strayed from the creative path in shaping her life and those around her. To her sons she is known as the mom who wrote rhyming poetry scavenger hunts, taught us to cook fajitas, and drove us to karate; To her family across the country she is the East-West snowbird, the traveling storyteller that brought creativity and helped maintain the link between distant relations; To the Norvern Shores Association she is the colourful member of one of its founding families; To Paws & Claws she is the lady who volunteered so much of her time, and ensured that mounds of donations found a good home; To Maggiolly and Dragonfly she is the creative juggernaut, moving from weaving to watercolours to glasscraft and woodcraft and found object collage, promoting the arts everywhere she went; To the Tla'amin Nation she is a friend of Indigenous peoples, an avid student of Indigenous art, culture, philosophy, and worldview; To her clients she is the creative guide who showed them how to explore and discover themselves through art and music and movement... ...And to many others she was so much more than can be captured here. She is the phoenix who rises again in all of us. She has touched and connected so many wonderful people. And it has been so heartwarming to see how all of those people have come back and supported her right through her last moments with us, coming in droves to visit her, bringing flowers, cards, music, and food. Thank you all, you do her memory great justice. We are holding a Celebration of Life for our mom, Sharon Benson, this coming Saturday starting at 4pm at the Ecology Retreat Centre, 308046 Hockley Road (Mono), Orangeville, Ontario L9W 6N2. The Celebration of Life for mom will send her off in style. Here are some House rules for the celebration: No black. Wear bright colours and silly hats! Bring something Sharon gave you and share its story with the folks you meet there. Bring an instrument if that's your thing and play a tune for her, or jam with some pals. If you are looking for something to bring, Mom loved Pot Lucks, so bring some food if you feel so inclined. See you all Saturday! Be ready for a rainbow tie-died, groovy bluesin', tale spinning good time, just how you KNOW she'd want it! We are also doing donations in her name or #PhoenixBenson to either the Pine River Institute where she used to work with atrisk youth: http://pineriverinstitute.com/to-donate Or the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/startu p.aspx?eventid=99728 An excerpt from Sharon’s poem “The Promise”: I will not hurry, rather Take the turtle’s way. Or we can quickly fly To new life, new beginnings, Like the dragonfly. If we take the wrong path a bit, That’s okay. We will just notice, Alter our way And carry on. In Memoriam Funeral Services is honoured to provide services for Ms. Sharon Donna Benson.