Cordelia Benoist

Cordelia Benoist, 78, of Eagle Butte, passed away Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at the I.H.S. Hospital, Eagle Butte.

Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m. MDT, Saturday, October 27, 2018 at the Old Agency Building, Eagle Butte with Rev. Gerald Yellow Hawk presiding. Burial followed in the Eagle Butte Cemetery. A wake service was held at 7:00 p.m. MDT, Thursday, October 25, 2018 at the Blue Gym, Little Eagle, with a 4:00 p.m. procession from east of town. An all-night wake service was held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 26, 2018 at the Old Agency Building, Eagle Butte with a procession from the 4-mile at 4:00 p.m.

Cordelia Joann Flying By was born on March 14, 1940 to the Reverend Moses and Leona (Hayes) Flying By in Little Eagle, South Dakota on the Standing Rock reservation. Cordelia was born into a family of ministry and spent her very early years in Little Eagle and Phoenix, Arizona where her father attended the Cook Christian Training School. The family moved back to Little Eagle where she attended the Day School, graduating from 8^th grade.  Their next home was in Cannonball, North Dakota and Cordelia attended and graduated from Fort Yates High School.  When she was a senior at Fort Yates, the family made a move to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, namely Cherry Creek, South Dakota, as that was where her father’s ministry had taken them. After high school Cordelia attended Huron College.

It was in Cherry Creek that Cordelia met Russell Douglas Benoist, they were married in a very memorable wedding ceremony on July 12, 1959 at the old United Church of Christ Church located across the creek. She said their wedding was very beautiful and talked about how her aunt, Adele Grindstone (Little Dog), who served as her maid of honor, had bought her everything she needed, from her wedding dress, to shoes, to jewelry and their wedding cake.  Dennis Buffalo served at Russell’s best man.  To this union, seven children were born:  Allen, Nathan, Michelle, Marc, Melanie, Leland and Marisa. 

Cordelia and Russell made their home in Cherry Creek where she worked at the Cherry Creek Day School as the Librarian. Russell’s work in the operation of heavy equipment took the family to several small towns in South Dakota such as Chamberlain, Presho and Fort Pierre, where they acquired many friends. Their children remember heavy equipment being their “playground” as they probably shouldn’t have been allowed to, but played on the heavy equipment for entertainment.  Cordelia and Russell both acquired jobs with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and moved to Eagle Butte, South Dakota; she worked in the dormitories and he was a bus driver at C-EB School.  Cordelia then became a secretary at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School, an occupation she really enjoyed as she worked with the high school students. She would often go to the store or somewhere in town and run into a former C-EB student and was always greeted as “Mrs. Benoist,” she enjoyed that.  Her last place of employment was at BIA Social Services Cheyenne River Agency where she gained many lifelong friends, she was part of a social service family that worked as a team and also became very close personal friends. Cordelia retired after this position and enjoyed just being at home. 

Cordelia and Russell were involved in a motor vehicle accident and from that point on her physical health became a major factor in her life as she had to have major and minor surgeries and eventually became dependent on a wheelchair. She endured physical pain that most people never knew about and couldn’t even imagine. Through it all, she remained positive and always had her faith in God.

She was a loving and kind mother and grandmother and everyone loved her beyond words.  She always supported her children and grandchildren in all that they did, whether it be sports or academics.  She always had kind and encouraging words, a smile and hugs for everyone she came across. She would laugh and joke and was accustomed to the “Benoist humor” she and Russell shared, which was also passed on to their children and grandchildren. If you know the family, you know the love and great sense of humor they share.  Cordelia had her regular line of callers, she spent countless hours on the phone with people, whether they needed advice or maybe a receipt or just to visit. She kept herself busy and didn’t let her illnesses keep her from cooking, sewing, driving, and attending sporting events. Getting out of the house to attend school functions for her grandchildren was her enjoyment.

Cordelia Joann Benoist was made an honorary member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in 2015 by the CRST Tribal Council. She had lived the majority of her life in the Cherry Creek and Eagle Butte areas.

Cordelia and Russell loved to travel, it seemed they were always off on a trip alone together or with one grandchild or another. They traveled to many places; Arizona, North Carolina, California, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon to visit family and friends and did a lot of sightseeing. They had gone to visit Russell’s older brother Donovin and his wife Rita in Florida one time and they had visited Disneyworld, coming home with t-shirts, souvenirs and pictures of themselves enjoying the vacation. They laughed because they had gone alone, with no kids and had so much fun! 

More physical ailments had taken a toll on Cordelia and as she entered into her last illness, her family was with her day and night. She was surrounded by her loving husband Russell, all seven of her children, her daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and numerous relatives until her final breath. A great and courageous loving woman, entered into the arms of God on October 16, 2018.  Cordelia was so very loved and will be missed by all.

 She is survived by Russell, her husband of 59 years; sons: Allen and Lisa Benoist, Nathan Benoist, Marc and Alissa Benoist, and Leland Benoist; daughters: Michelle Benoist Moran, Melanie Benoist and Marisa Benoist, all of Eagle Butte, South Dakota; granddaughter, Neveah Benoist, whom Cordelia and Russell adopted and raised since she was 10 months old; sisters, Faye Condon and Menoda Flying By; brothers: Wilbur Flying By, Sr., Russell Flying By, and Myron Flying By. 

Preceding her in death were her parents, Moses and Leona Flying By; sisters: Aurelia who died in infancy and Magdalene Long Feather; brother, Byron Flying By; daughter-in-law, Angie Benoist; and her precious granddaughters, Adalei Jase Blue Thunder and Candelaria Peralta.

Luce Funeral Chapel of Eagle Butte has been entrusted with Cordelia’s arrangements.