Obituary of Florence Theresa Benere

BENERE (MacDonell), Florence Theresa – age 95, of Enfield, Nova Scotia passed away peacefully on April 2, 2024 with family by her side.  She was the daughter of Fred and Murlie (Gourley) MacDonell.

Florence has enjoyed a long, and wonderful life relishing the company of family and friends.  Her faith has sustained her and provided her strength and comfort when times were good and in difficult times.  Her sense of humour always allowed her to face every day with a positive outlook on life.  Her philosophy was to live life one day at a time and she constantly told her family that this too shall pass and to accept that sometimes “it is what it is”. 

Florence was also proud of being born the same year as Mickey Mouse and this often became a theme for her birthdays and celebrations. When Mickey said: “All you need is a little bit of magic.” her family felt he was talking about the magic Florence sprinkled in their lives – in fact it was a heaping dose of magic!!!  From her children’s perspective she was an original and the perfect model for the woman we call Mum.

Florence loved a rousing game of cards, a wonderful laugh and sharing her time with others.  She always said that “The greatest gift you can give someone is your time.” And she practiced this throughout her life, and always marveled how much this sharing meant to others.  She will be missed by so many.

Florence is survived by 12 of her 14 children:  Joan (Mike) Dalrymple, Fred (Florence) Benere, David (Juanita) Benere, Cathy Mercredi, Gwen (John) Dillman, Connie (Tracey) Thibeau, Pat (Carolyn) Benere, Janet (Steve) Graham, Noreen (Bob) Corkum, Annette (Leon) Thompson, Donna (LeRoy) Dillman, Jim (Linda) Benere and daughter-in-law Margo Benere.  In addition to her children, she was the matriarch of a large and still growing family consisting of 37 grandchildren, 67 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.

Besides her parents, Florence was pre-deceased by her husband Leo; their sons John and Raymond; a great-granddaughter, Lennie and her brothers George and Allie.

A special thanks to Dr. Iain MacNeil and the staff at the Cobequid Community Health Centre, Dr. Laura Mitchell, Nurses Wendy, Kayla, Morgan and Erin, for all their wonderful care and compassion.  In addition, thank you to the VON, and Father Yves Marchildon for providing last rites, as well as Father Gerald David, Pastor Saint Andre Bessette Parish.

Cremation has taken place under the care and direction of Ettinger Funeral Homes. Visitation will be held 2-4 and 6-8pm Saturday, April 6^th in Ettinger Funeral Home, 2812 Highway 2, Shubenacadie. Funeral Service will take place 10am Monday, April 8^th in St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church, Enfield, Father Gerald David officiating.  A livestream of the event will be available by clicking on “View Service Here” next to the obituary of the funeral home website or directly at this link:  https://event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=b54e2501-6ce5-4d39-8e13-156a4d2c29ea

Following the interment in the parish cemetery, a reception will be held at the Enfield Fire Hall, hosted by St. Bernard's CWL.

In Florence’s memory, donations can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Kidney Foundation, or a charity of your choice.

Tributes, words of comfort and memories of Florence may be shared with the family at www.ettingerfuneralhome.com