Dorothy Louise O'Toole Benge

Dorothy Louise O’Toole Benge was a woman of passion, wit, generosity and accomplishment. She passed away at home on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 88 years of age. She will be greatly missed and always remembered.

Dot was born in her grandparents’ home on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 23, 1933. Her parents were Robert James O’Toole of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Marie Louise Molero, of St. Bernard Parish. Her father was a captain in the Merchant Marine who served in World War II ferrying ships from Europe before being posted to the Panama Canal. At a young age during the war, Dot flew with her mother to Panama to stay with her father and lived in what was known as the “American Sector” of the canal zone. As a child in Panama, she collected autographs of the Hollywood movie stars of the day and even dined with some at her father’s table as they made the passage through the canal.

As a young girl, she developed a love of history exploring the environs of the French Quarter while living with her younger sister, Patricia C. O’Toole, and her dearly beloved grandparents, Manuel Molero and Camille Silvera. Her grandfather founded the Delacroix Corporation in 1929 which has been located in the French Quarter’s historic fur district on Decatur Street since 1939. Mr. and Mrs. Molero were community leaders in St. Bernard Parish and from them Dorothy gained her understanding of duty to family and community. Throughout her life, she embraced the values of family, home, heritage and community.

Dot attended St. Joseph’s Academy, studied business administration at Tulane University and earned an Elementary Education Degree from St. Mary’s Dominican College. As her many students can attest, teaching was her true calling in life. Even when she retired from education and went to work at the Delacroix Corporation following in the footsteps of her grandfather and mother, she continued to volunteer and teach reading to English as a Second Language and learning-disabled adults and children, counsel parents on education choices and to champion educational causes.

Dot and her husband, Donald C. Benge, with their dear friends Joan and Anthony Pizzolato founded Jefferson Academy in Metairie with the goal of offering a private school education at a reasonable price. Jefferson Academy taught from Montessori School through the Eighth Grade. There are generations of JA students who remember Mrs. Benge or Mrs. B with fondness and regard whether as Assistant Principal or as teacher. Her eldest son, Robert Michael Benge, shared her love of education and followed her into teaching at Jefferson Academy. Although the Benges closed and sold the school in 1984, the generations of students who received the caring quality education offered there have maintained a steadfast loyalty to their school, to Mrs. Benge and the Benge family.

Upon the closing of Jefferson Academy, Dot taught in the Jefferson Parish Public School System at Frederick Douglass Elementary School on the West Bank. At Frederick Douglass, she continued sharing her gift of creating a love of learning in her students. She formed dear relationships with her students that she never forgot. Between her private and public-school tenures, Dot taught elementary school, including special education classes, for almost thirty years.

During her time teaching school, Dot also was an enthusiastic and prodigious grower of African Violets. She was a member of the African Violet Society of America and the Dixie African Violet Society. She grew, showed African Violets and also served as a Judge at various competitions in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Ultimately, she even hybridized her own miniature African Violets. She was featured in a segment by local TV journalist, Angela Hill, filmed in her Metairie home discussing her success with African Violets. One of her minis was named “Angela Hill” in honor of the local anchor and another was named “My Friend Phung” for one of her students who was tragically killed in an automobile accident.

In 1989, Dorothy went to work at Delacroix Corporation. She is the immediate Past President of the corporation and was serving as Chairman of the Board at the time of her death. She was a loyal and steadfast steward of the corporation as both Past President and Chairman. As part of her business life in New Orleans, she helped found the Upper Decatur Association with Chef Duke LoCicero from Café Giovanni to create a community of the various businesses at the upper end of Decatur Street. She served as the Association’s treasurer and secretary for its beginning years. At that time, she also became a tour guide and conducted tours through the Friends of the Cabildo, serving on their Board for a time. Friendships made in those years have lasted to this day.

Dot was incredibly active in Los Islen͂os Society beginning in 1991. As a descendant of the Molero family, she traced her family’s origins in Louisiana and St. Bernard Parish to 1778 when the first Canarian colonists aboard the Santisimo Sacramento arrived on behalf of the King of Spain. Much of the Molero family came from the Island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She had two ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and another who fought in the Battle of New Orleans. As part of her closeness to her grandparents, she developed a proficiency in Spanish and a love of her Canarian-Spanish cultural heritage.

She Co-edited a cookbook which focused on the culinary traditions of the Islen͂os, Los Islen͂os Cookbook, Spanish Louisiana Recipes. In addition, she pushed to have the Canarian heritage included in state history textbooks, so the rich and diverse Spanish part of Louisiana’s heritage would be taught throughout the State. She served for over two decades intermittently as chairman and co-chairman of Los Islen͂os Fiesta, supporting efforts to emphasize the cocina Canaria in the fiesta menu. She began collecting and wearing traje tipico or traditional clothing of the Canaries particularly during presentations before area schools, civic organizations, genealogical and historical groups. She purchased clothing in the Canary Islands to contribute to a docent program for students at Chalmette High School. And, she and her dear friend, Bertin Esteves, Jr., made several thousand presentations that began as part of the Friends of the Cabildo Ghostly Galavant throughout the metro New Orleans area, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Mississippi, Texas and in Ingenio, Gran Canaria and the City of Agüimes in Gran Canaria, which is a sister city of St. Bernard. One friend said, that with her “indefatigable zeal” she “literally helped to increase awareness of Spanish Louisiana and the Islen͂os Canarios globally!!”.

Dot was elected President of Los Islen͂os Heritage and Cultural Society for four terms, 1999-2001 and 2005-2011, and is, to date, the longest serving president of the Society. She and her aunt, Mabel Molero Quatroy, donated additional land to St. Bernard Parish to expand Los Islen͂os Museum Complex. She participated in the development of the Los Islen͂os master plan by Koch and Wilson Architects, championed the establishment of Los Islen͂os Historic Village which resulted in the relocation of five historic structures from eastern St. Bernard Parish to the museum complex and served on the rebuilding committee which resulted in the rebuilt/restored Los Islen͂os Museum Complex following the catastrophic devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

Her legendary stubbornness and irrepressible nature served her well in meetings with parish and federal government officials, restoration architects and building contractors. While generous with donations of property and funding, her most valuable contribution was the gift of her time, energy, talent, intellect and excellent leadership skills in seeing the Complex restored.

In 2016, during the 40th anniversary of Los Islen͂os Society, St. Bernard Parish recognized her outstanding commitment to the community with a proclamation designating her an honored citizen of St. Bernard Parish. Sociedad Espan͂ola joined in recognizing her remarkable contributions to preserving the Islen͂o heritage of St. Bernard and Louisiana in 2018. While grateful for the recognition, the true reward for Dot was the work of preserving this unique heritage and culture for future generations.

Throughout her life, her guiding principles were love of and commitment to family. If asked of her best accomplishment and greatest joy, she would say “my family” without hesitation. Family was first, foremost and her everything. Sadly, she was predeceased in life by her grandparents, parents, her husband, Donald Benge, her son, David Benge, her son-in-law, Monte Brown, and her cousins, Henry LaBonne and James Quatroy.

She had four loving children, Robert Michael Benge (Joan), David Manuel Benge (deceased), Thomas Alan Benge, Sr., (Denise) and Melinda Benge Brown (Bobby). Her children, Mike, Tom and Melinda followed her into work at Delacroix Corporation and strive to continue the legacy she left with the support of her “work family” at the corporation.

As GeeGee, she will be sorely missed by her beloved grandchildren, Thomas Alan Benge, Jr. (Olivia), Blaine Benge Moncrief (Chad), Fallon Alisha Walters and Amanda Marie Benge. And, her adored great-grandchildren, Braden, Caitlyn, Bennett, Hudson, Colton, Stella and Bree will feel the loss of their wonderfully fun and loving GeeGee.

She leaves her sister, Patricia C. O’Toole, and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins who she embraced with her generous spirit and love. She also leaves her “Delacroix people”, her work family, to carry on in her memory. As she never met a stranger in her life, she leaves a long list of friends who will miss her grand passion for life. And, all who knew and loved her will miss her kindness, acceptance and all the simple gestures she gave without a thought.

Family, friends and former students are invited to the visitation at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, Louisiana on Monday, December 20, 2021, from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. And, to Visitation on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, from 11:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M., when the Funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Chapel of the funeral home. Following Mass, a jazz procession will be led from the chapel to the burial in the cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dot’s memory to Los Islen͂os Heritage and Cultural Society designated to the Endowment Fund and mailed to: 206 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.

To view and sign the guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com