Helen Benjamin

Helen Ades Benjamin, age 103, died January 6 at Kenwood Senior Star in Cincinnati. She was the beloved wife of the late John (Jack) Benjamin for 67 years until 2009, mother of the late Lora Maurer of Brookline, Massachusetts, and mother-in-law of the late George Barham of Northampton, Massachusetts. She will be sadly missed by her daughters Mary Benjamin (Rick Gottfried) of Topanga, California, Sally Benjamin (Rob Kessler) of Albany, California, Ruth Barham of Northampton, Massachusetts, son-in-law Steve Maurer now of South Fallsburg, New York; grandchildren Ram Maurer (Lucia Nicolini), Rose Barham (David Forster), David Kessler, Claire Barham (Allisa Boulette), Annie Maurer (Tona Barahona), Julia Kessler, and Gabriel Gottfried, four great grandchildren, and several devoted nieces and nephews. Helen was born in 1921and grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, the third of four children of David and Sara (Fox) Ades. She graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in political science, married in 1942, and settled into a busy family life in North Avondale in Cincinnati around 1952. She was active in local politics, especially with the Charter Party, and the campaigns of her friend and neighbor, Bobbie Sterne. A lifelong lover of art, she found fulfillment as a docent at the Cincinnati Art Museum in her later years. She was a devoted and active member of Wise Temple. She considered the Wise congregation her core community. After her husband’s death, she continued to live in their condominium in East Walnut Hills until her move to the Kenwood in 2014. We deeply thank the staff of the Kenwood for the loving care she received there. We also are grateful to Rabbi Lewis Kamrass for his ongoing presence and loving attention to her over many years. Her family will miss her wry humor, intelligence, humility, graciousness, and sweetness. Helen’s funeral will take place on Sunday, January 12, 2025 at Isaac M. Wise Temple, 8329 Ridge Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 at 1:00PM with visitation beginning at 12:30PM. Services will be LIVE STREAMED www.wisetemple.org/worship/live-stream/ Burial will directly follow at United Jewish Cemetery Walnut Hills, 3400 Montgomery Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. Following burial, there will be a gathering at The Kenwood by Senior Star, 5435 Kenwood Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45227 from 3:30PM to 4:30PM in The Studio on the 6th floor. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wise Temple www.wisetemple.org/about/donate or the Cincinnati Art Museum www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/give-join/ways-to-give/

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Helen Benjamin

March 1, 1921 - January 6, 2025