Funeral services for Nelda Lou (Cochran) Benton, 91, Midwest City, OK, formerly of Lawrence, KS, will be held at 1:30 p.m., January 26, 2019, at the Jones Funeral Home in Burlington, KS.  Burial will follow immediately after the service at Graceland Cemetery in Burlington.  She died Tuesday, January 22, 2019, in Midwest City, OK.

Nelda Benton was born on June 17, 1927, in Pleasant Township of Coffey County, near Burlington, KS the daughter of Lewis J. and Verna N. (Cope) Cochran.  Nelda had one sister, Anita, now deceased. They were raised on the family's Otter Creek farm.

She met her future husband, Darwin K. Benton, also of Burlington, when he was home on leave from military duties.  They dated, fell in love and married on May 25, 1947.  They celebrated their 65 ^th wedding anniversary in 2012 and almost reached 66 years of marriage before Darwin passed away on April 25, 2013.

Nelda and Darwin were faithful members of the Church of Christ, worshiping in Lawrence and later in Baldwin.  They loved their church family and found many ways to express their love for all their many friends and neighbors in Lawrence for the 60 years they lived there.  Illness resulted in a move to be nearer to one of their sons in 2012, and they lived in Midwest City, OK for the rest of their lives.

Survivors include two sons, Dan L. Benton of Spencer, OK and Andrew K. Benton, of Malibu, CA and their respective families.  She enjoyed her four grandchildren: Hailey, Chris, Megan and Evan and, recently, two great-grandchildren, Jackson and Paige Kelly; she is also survived by sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Joy and Larry Becker, of Papillion, NE; and many cousins, nephews, and nieces whom she loved very much.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made in her name to the Lawrence Public Schools Foundation and may be sent in care of the Jones Funeral Home, PO Box 277, Burlington, KS 66839.