Maxine Jean “Mickey” (Heiermann) Benjamin, age 90, passed on September 29 at Brentwood Assisted Living in Niles, MI after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mickey was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1931, in Buchanan, MI to Ervin and Ada Mae (Sadler) Heiermann and was the youngest of 10 children.
Mickey was a proud Buchanan Buck, graduating in 1949 and showing her school pride as a high school cheerleader and by participating in the Miss Buchanan pageant. For many years into adulthood, she helped organize the class reunion and participated in many Buckteen events.
On December 6, 1953, Mickey married her love, Ned Benjamin at the First Methodist Church in Buchanan and together they had two children, Guy Earl and Beth Ann. They made their home in Niles and worked side by side at their business, Ned’s Meat Processing, for over 25 years. Ned and Mickey celebrated 48 years of marriage before his passing in 2001, also after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mickey was also preceded in death by her son, Guy, who passed in 2010; her parents; brothers: Joe, Ervin Jr., John, James, Robert, and Harold “Pete;” and sisters: Mary Long, Virginia Frucci and Laura Spilger.
Mickey loved and cared for her family and friends. The bigger the group, the more she liked it. Having fun and being with others gave her great joy. As a keen and talented cook and baker, she would always make enough food to feed a small army. Everyone was welcome at her table, and no one ever left her home hungry. Mickey loved to laugh and could be identified in any crowd by her loud, enthusiastic cackle. Caring and helping others was her passion; she would do anything for anyone. If anyone needed help, she was there. When not surrounded by others, she enjoyed sewing and crocheting, planting and tending flowers, clipping recipes, and watching crime and cowboy shows or a good Lifetime movie on TV.
Mickey was an avid bowler for decades in leagues at Shula 31 and Timber-Lanes bowling alleys in Niles. She was also a longtime member of the Women of the Moose, Lodge 449, and American Legion Auxiliary Post 26, both in Buchanan.
Those left to cherish her memories are her daughter, Beth Benjamin and daughter-in-law, Rebecca “Becky” Benjamin both of Niles; grandson, Bryan (Sabla) Benjamin of Summit, NJ, granddaughter Chelsey (Brent) Martinez of Dimondale, MI; and four great-grandchildren: Ainsley Tallulah Martinez, Henrik Guy Benjamin, Piper Eloise Martinez, and Everett Charles Benjamin. Also surviving are her sisters-in-law Lottie Heiermann of Traverse City, MI and Joan Benjamin of Niles, MI, as well as over 100 nieces and nephews and many special friends who were like family.
A special thank you to all of Mickey’s friends and caregivers at Brentwood for your love and care over the past five years. Her last few years were happy and comforted by you all.
Visitation will be Friday, October 7, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Hoven Funeral Home, 414 E. Front St., Buchanan, MI 49107 with a memorial service at 6 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to plant a tree or flowering shrub in Mickey’s honor. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to the Council of Aging Adult Day Center, P.O. Box 5, Cassopolis, MI 49031, or the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.
Posted online on October 04, 2022
