Marvel Cooley Benton

Marvel Cooley Benton, 95, a beloved wife, mother, and grandma, and longtime resident of Idaho Falls, Idaho, passed away peacefully in Preston, Idaho, on March 25, 2019.


Marvel was born July 9, 1923, in Newton, Utah, the second of eight children born to Marvel Griffin and Marcus R. Cooley, Jr. She was raised on a small farm in Newton, and spent her free time reading, roller skating, and hunting for wildflowers with her siblings. Marvel graduated from North Cache High School in Richmond, Utah, in 1941, and attended Utah State Agriculture College in Logan, Utah. Marvel married her sweetheart, David E. Benton, on February 2, 1944. They were sealed in the Hawaiian Temple on June 22, 1946, while David was stationed in Hawaii. David and Marvel celebrated 72 years of marriage in 2016.


Marvel and David raised seven children and spent the majority of their married life in Idaho Falls. Outside of her busy home life, Marvel found time to pursue her love of flowers through an extensive home garden, cultivating over 100 varieties of irises, as well as many other types of flowers. She enjoyed genealogy, stitchery and collecting dolls, figurines, and decorative plates. Marvel followed Aggie sports and was a particularly devoted fan of USU basketball, despite their abbreviated performance in this year’s NCAA tournament.


Marvel’s mother and father both encouraged reading and education, and Marvel instilled this in her children and grandchildren. She followed in the footsteps of her father and other family educators by returning to Utah State to earn her teaching degree Cum Laude in 1971. She taught fifth grade for 15 years at A.H. Bush School in Idaho Falls, ID, until she retired in 1986.


Marvel was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many capacities, including time as Relief Society President and 15 years teaching Cultural Refinement.


She was keenly interested in and celebrated her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and actively encouraged their education, curiosity and love of life. She and David enjoyed traveling to visit their extensive family, as well as learning about other cultures in places such as Guatemala, Ireland, England, and Wales.


Marvel was preceded in death by her husband, David Eugene Benton, daughter Ann Benton Rogers, and son-in-laws, Roland Farnsworth and Carl Robbins. She is survived by six children, Dorothy (Ray) McCarty, Susan Farnsworth, and Barbara (Gregg) Baker of Idaho Falls; David (Kristy) Benton of Gilbert, Arizona; son-in-law Renny (Cindy) Rogers of Mesa, Arizona; Mary (Brian) Judy of Preston, Idaho; and Mina Robbins of Pleasant View, Utah; siblings, Audrey Fowler, Noel Cooley and Aunt Marie Cooley Johnson; 34 grandchildren; and 79 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.


The family wishes to thank the staff of Access Home Care and Hospice for their loving care and devotion.


Funeral services will be held on Saturday March 30, 2019 at noon at the Newton Ward Chapel, 76 South 100 West, Newton, Utah. Friends may visit from 11:00 – 11:45 a.m., prior to services. Interment will be at the Newton Cemetery. Condolences may be shared online at www.allenmortuaries.net .