Obituary notice for CLARA LIDISKY BENESH, posted in newspaper dated Tuesday, July 28, 1998 [Posted in unnamed newspaper from the Belleville, Illinois area; forwarded from Mildred Brosnick.] CLARA BENESH, nee LIDISKY, age 104, of Belleville, Illinois, born April 21, 1894, in the town of Osek, Czech Republic, died Sunday, July 26, 1998, at the Lincoln Nursing Home, Belleville, Illinois. Mrs. Benesh came to the United States of America in 1910 at the age of 16. Being able to talk German as well as Czech, she worked as a housegirl in St. Louis, MO., for the Collins family and the Anheuser family of beer fame. She married JERRY BENESH in St. Louis, MO., in 1913, with whom she had eight children; their first pair of twins died at the age of 1 year. Her husband, Jerry, died in 1936 at the age of 46 and left her with six children, the youngest being 9 years of age. Besides her husband, preceding her in death were three sons, CHARLES, JERRY Jr., and WILLIAM; a daughter, HELEN; three brothers, CHARLES, JOSEPH and WILLIAM LIDISKY; and four sisters, ANNA (SWANCIL), JARMILA (BATHA), MARY (BELLAR) and PATRICIA (BOSSLER). Surviving are a son FRANK (YARMILLA) BENESH of Maryville, Illinois; a daughter, GEORGINA BENESH of Jacksonville, Illinois; 11 grandchildren, RICHARD (SANDY) BENESH of Jonesboro, Arkansas, LARRY (NANCY) BENESH of Maryville, IL, JANICE (DAVID) KROETER of Jonesboro, Arkansas, BOBBIE JEAN BENESH, DEBORAH BENESH, JUDY (BILL) BENTON of Cahokia, IL, PATRICIA (JACK) OLSEN, JAYNE BENISH, CHARLES (CATHY) BENISH and MICHAEL BENISH, all of Minnesota and DIANA WEST of Colorado; 23 great grandchildren; 8 great great grandchildren; a sister, ROSE KIRKWOOD of Anna, IL; a sister-in-law, SYLVIA LIDISKY of Fairview Heights, IL; daughters-in-law; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Czech Educational Center, 4690 Lansdowne, St. Louis, MO 63116, or the Czechoslovak Society of America Scholarship Fund, 122 W. 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL 60521-1557. Funeral from the Kassly Mortuary, Fairview Heights, IL. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, July 30, 1998 at the Kassly Mortuary Chapel with Father Clyde Grogan officiating. Interment will be in the Walnut Hill Cemetery, Belleville, IL. ------------------------------------- [ research notes: This lady is the cousin of my grandmother MARIE ROSALIE HARTMANN, daughter of ROSALIE "ROSE" VALTA LIDISKY, and the granddaughter of MARIE & WALTER (VACLAV) VALTA. Early in 1900, the extended VALTA "WALTER" family began their emigration from Bohemia to the Belleville, IL area: the parents MARIE & VACLAV VALTA "WALTER", sons VACLAV "WALTER" and FRANZ; and their married daughters and their families: LIDISKY, SOUKUP, KOUDELKA, PECHMAN. The Valta and Soukup families are also buried in the Walnut Hill Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois. I have more information on the Valta line and geographic areas in Bohemia.] ------------------------------------------------------------- UGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organiza- tions or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contri- butor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Karen Souhrada