Elizabeth Eubank “Bankie” Nuckols Benton, 91, passed away peacefully on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022 in her river home in Topping.
Mrs. Benton was the daughter of the late Dr. Virgil Eubank Stiff and Mrs. Elizabeth Griffith Stiff of Topping. She graduated from Syringa School in Middlesex County, attended Madison College and transferred to Lynchburg College graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration. She excelled as a student and in sports as student body secretary and in student cabinet, as president of the Student Christian Association, in Business Club, choir, Kappa Omega Phi, Insignia Club, Campus Council, on Argonaut Yearbook staff, as May queen of the Senior Spring Festival, on the basketball and hockey teams and was recognized in “Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities.”
After graduation, “Bankie” began her business career working for Southern States and then as business manager for Everett Waddy Printers in Richmond. Bankie married L.T. “Nuck” Nuckols from Richmond. They started a successful travel agency in Topping called “AAAAA-5 Star Travel Services Inc.” in 1985 and moved the office to her family home in 1995 where she was born. Mrs. Benton loved to travel the world providing an exceptional cultural experience for her clients and was active in her resident communities of Middlesex County and Palm Beach County, Fla.
After a wonderful partnership living between Richmond and Boca Raton, Fla., Nuck passed away in 1998. Bankie later remarried their good friend, William M. “Bill” Benton, in February 2003. This wonderful partnership carried them from Richmond to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and around the world.
Ms. Benton was president of the Windsor Farms Garden Club and member of the Tuckahoe Women’s Club in Richmond, Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., Coral Ridge Yacht Club and the Royal Dames of Cancer Research in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Bankie” was a consummate and extremely loyal member of the Republican Party, participating as the first delegate from Middlesex County in the 1980 and 1984 National Republican Conventions casting the Virginia vote for Ronald Reagan. Bankie was honored by the National Republican Committee in 2017 for her unselfish sacrifices and strong activism to the party and candidates.
As American patriots, Mrs. Benton and her late husband, William M. “Bill” Benton, were very active in supporting Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge. Mrs. Benton served as Ways and Means Chairman and president of the Broward Chapter of FFVF in Florida from 2007-2009, receiving the Spirit of ’76 Award for Freedoms Foundation American Patriot of 2011 and 2015; and the Jack and Harriett Kaye Lifetime Achievement Award for Freedoms Foundation, Broward County Chapter in 2017. She and her late husband founded the Mary Ball Washington Chapter of Freedoms Foundation in 2009, serving Northumberland County, Lancaster County and Middlesex County.
Through her many recognitions, Ms. Benton was given the distinction of “Woman of the Year 2008” by the 1000+ Club Fort Lauderdale, American Cancer Society, for her outstanding contributions to her community.
Mrs. Benton loved the “Rivah” and with her late husband Bill were one of the original Founders in Oyster Company of Virginia LLC, which successfully developed and received USEPA and VADEQ approval as the first nutrient credit remediation program in the nation using oysters for accelerating a healthier Bay and creation of the Reeftek Living Memorial Reef program.
She is survived by her nephews, Richard L. Chenery, and James H. Chenery, both of Richmond; great-nephews, Taylor and Winston; and great-great-nephews; cousins, Cornelia Collins Robertson and Charles Ferneyhough III; her first late husband, L.T. “Nuck” Nuckols Jr.’s step-daughter, Nora N. Arquin; two step-sons, Mac Nuckols, and Tom Nuckols III; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and her late husband, William “Bill” McConnell Benton’s four children, Lois Benton Lindstrom, William “Billy” Morgan Benton, David Charles Benton, and John McConnell Benton; seven grandchildren, William “Will” Benton and Sarah Benton Walker, Erik and Lilli Lindstrom, David Cochran Benton, Jonathan and Rebekah Benton; as well as two great-grandchildren, Henry Benton Walker and Victoria Morgan Walker; and brother-in-law, Richard Douglas Benton.
To all the family of friends, including the caregivers and especially Jerri D. Leake and W. Tolar Nolley, thank you for giving “Bankie” the unconditional love, respect and care during her final years.
A memorial and celebration service will be conducted for friends and family at Harmony Grove Baptist Church, 7722 General Puller Highway, Topping, on Valentine’s weekend, Sunday, Feb. 13, at 2 p.m.
Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Mary Ball Washington Chapter Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge Attn: Clark Waring, P.O. Box 294, Locust Hill, VA 23092 and or Broward County Chapter of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Attn: Abi Montes, P.O. Box 4116, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33338 or the Virginia Ecological Solutions Foundation at 838 Long Point Lane, Topping, VA 23169.
Mrs. Bentons’ ashes will be interred in her family plot at Harmony Grove Baptist Church, Topping, Virginia, and also honored in a Living Memorial Oyster Reef in the Rappahannock across from her home in Topping. A celebration and reef deployment service will be conducted in the late spring 2022. The date and time will be announced later.
