Fleurette "Bopeep" Benckart

Fleurette Marie "Bopeep" McMillin Benckart, 96, Bloomington, died June 30, 2019 after a brief illness at home. She was a kind, caring woman and as her name implied, she was unique. You will likely never meet another Bopeep. Born March 8, 1923, she was the daughter of Maud Marie Miers and Alvin N. "Bo" McMillin the legendary Indiana University football coach. She attended St. Charles Elementary, Nazareth Academy and graduated from Indiana University, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the IU Theater & Drama troupe. She had a strong speaking voice and enjoyed plays and performances all her life. After college graduation she was hired by TWA as one of the first airline hostesses and was dubbed “Bopeep of the Skies” by the local press. She married William E. "Bill" Benckart on June 11, 1946 in Bloomington. Following his naval service, Bill & Bopeep returned to Bedford, IN to raise a family where he worked for Central Foundry and Indiana Limestone. The family moved to Bloomington in 1954 when Bill went to work for, and later purchased, Moon Freight Lines. She believed she was the oldest living member of the Bloomington Country Club. When she was nearly 80 she played 100 rounds of golf in a single summer. She attended St. John the Apostle & St. Charles Catholic Churches and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Association, Bloomington Psi Otes, Navajo, Unique and several other women’s clubs. She thought her obituary should say she was “clubbed to death”. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Sara and Jeffrey Weil of Boulder, CO; daughter Amy Benckart and daughter-in-law Cynthia Stone of Bloomington; son and daughter-in-law Ted and Judith Benckart of Bloomington; daughter Nancy Benckart Ohlmann of Omaha, NE; grandchildren, Kathryn Weil Coker (Tug), Brandon Weil (Uli), Kelsy Benckart (Bo), Logan Benckart, Ryne Benckart and three great-grandchildren, Siddalee Benckart, Bo Coker and Quinn Coker as well as Becky Johnson her beloved friend and helper over the past five years. She is also survived by her brothers Nugent McMillin of Wellfleet, MA; Michael McMillin of Newport, RI; and her sister Jane McMillin Bubier of Annapolis, MD. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, a brother, Jere McMillin and her stepmother, Kathryn Gillihan McMillin. The family is grateful to the wonderful women who watched over her at home the past several months. Funeral Services will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, July 8, 2019 at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 2222 East 3rd, Bloomington, with Father Thomas Kovatch officiating, and a luncheon follows the service. Burial will be at Valhalla Memory Gardens. Friends may call at Allen Funeral Home, 4155 S. Old State Rd 37, Bloomington from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, with Rosary Service at 6:45 p.m. Memorial contributions to honor Bopeep can be made to The IU Foundation for the "Bo McMillin Scholarship”, IU Varsity Club, Memorial Stadium, 1001 E. 17th, Bloomington, IN 47408 or to Running Strong for American Indian Youth at http://indianyouth.org/

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Fleurette "Bopeep" Benckart

March 8, 1923 - June 30, 2019