Joanne L. (Welch) Benner, 89, of Franklin, New Hampshire, died at Mountain Ridge Healthcare Center on Jan. 24, 2019.

She was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania on July 6, 1929, the daughter of Joseph and Anne (DiMeglio) Welch. She graduated from Clairton High School in 1947 then moved to New York City to work for a while.

Joanne served in the Women’s Army Corps from 1950 until 1953. During that time she was stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia where she met her future husband, Richard Benner, who was born in Boothbay Harbor. They corresponded for several years until Dick came back from Germany in April 1957 to marry her and the newlyweds returned to Munich to start their life together. Joanne became an excellent Army wife, dealing competently with deployments, twice raising their three children alone while Dick was in Vietnam.

Once the children were older and the family was living in Virginia, she went back to work eventually working for the State Department.

Joanne and Dick were married for 61 years and lonesome for her husband, she followed him to Heaven after just seven months.

Family members include her children, Richard Ross Benner of Alvarado, Texas and Amy Caroline Benner of Franklin; two grandchildren, Aubrey and Annike Benner of Burlington, Vermont; two sisters, Beverly Shovar of Ashburn, Virginia and Virginia Stone of Yucaipa, California; and nieces and nephews.

Besides her parents, she was also predeceased by her husband, Richard Carroll Benner in 2018 and a daughter, Pamela Diane Benner who died in 1982.

Funeral services are private and interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Joanne may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 7585167, Topeka, KA 66675-8517.

Thibault-Neun Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Franklin are assisting Mrs. Benner’s family. For an online guestbook, please visit www.neunfuneralhomes.com