Claudia Merlin (Maret) Benda, passed away on January 22, 2026, with her family by her side.
Memorial Service will be Saturday, February 7th at 11:00 AM at Bates-Gould Chapel in Alliance, Nebraska.
Claudia was born on January 24, 1937, in Curtis Nebraska. She was the 5th of five children born to Daniel and Ruie (Wood) Maret. She grew up attending the local grade school and Cutis High School and graduated from UNSA in the Spring of 1954. On October 22 she married Gary Benda. In the 1960’s their family grew when they welcomed their son Randy and daughter Tonya.
She was happy being a farm wife and mother. She served on the district 40 school board for seven years. She really enjoyed the rural community and the many friendships she made there. She will be remembered for her skill in making great tasting food for family. She loved to cook for everyone including friends that helped with branding, wheat harvest and several other occasions. Her specialties included cinnamon rolls, fried chicken, roast and scotcharoos. When mom cooked there was never a complaint, just people wanting a second or third helping.
Gary did the farming and Claudia did much of the business details. She enjoyed living in the country close to the farm. The long work hours and stress that come with farming kept the family close together.
She and Gary spent 60 happy years together and welcomed their granddaughters and, later, step grandchildren into their family. They enjoyed being grandparents. One of the things that gave them the most delight was attending the many activities the grandkids were involved in; softball games, volleyball, track and dance recitals.
They were fortunate enough to travel to many of their favorite destinations. When asked which one she enjoyed the most, Claudia always had trouble deciding. Eventually she did say she loved Australia a lot. She was grateful that they were able to travel for several years. Many of their travels included their closest friends.
When they moved into town she served as a hospice volunteer. She visited many patients in Hospice Care. Those visits meant a lot to everyone involved. She also loved to do work in her yard which was always beautiful and included all her favorite flowers.
She was an avid reader and spent a lot of time with her favorite authors. She loved playing golf and spent many happy days playing the sport with close friends. She also loved to watch Nebraska Volleyball and Football. She hated it when she did not get the games on television or the radio. We were fortunate enough to be able to take her to a Nebraska Volleyball game in Lincoln. It was a lot of fun and she loved checking it off her bucket list. The other thing she loved to do was to take an occasional trip to Deadwood. She went many times with Gary and after his passing she went with her close friends.
Claudia is survived by her son, Randy, her daughter and husband, Tonya and Doug Thomas, daughter in law Kerri Benda, her sister, Hilda Wolgamott; grandchildren, Shayla (Jarred) Ruth, Kelsey Sylvester, Alyshia Benda, Jacob (Olivia) Thomas, Maria (Corbin) Spells and great grandchildren, Moxley Russell, Reese Spells, Phoebe Spells and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gary, her parents, Ruie and Daniel Maret and her husband’s parents, Mildred and Walter Benda and 3 siblings.
Memorials to the American Cancer Society may be sent in care of Doug & Tonya Thomas, 2665 Blackstone Rd, Gering, NE 69341.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com. Bates-Gould Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.