Carolyn Frank Benton

Carolyn Frank Benton, 83, passed away in the early hours of May 31, 2026, at her home in Denton, Texas. She died in peace and without pain, surrounded and comforted by the loving presence at her bedside of Jim, her husband of 56 years, and their children and families, following a day long vigil during which she was alert and engaged in final words and prayers for and with the three children, their spouses, and grandchildren.

Her death ended a years-long debilitating process of pulmonary disease and began a long-anticipated reunion around a heavenly piano with her family members who have preceded her there. Her deep and unshakeable Christian faith was always at the center of her life. Her warm, empathetic embrace, her generous, genuine, all-inclusive spirit, her extraordinary kindness, and her deep concern and interest in everyone were felt even by those who were with her for brief moments. Those ways of loving and accepting others with neither strings nor limits were a powerful witness to her Christian faith and love.

Her faith was born and grew, as the seventh of seven children born to Marvin and Ida Frank who lived in and near Hillsboro always - he as patriarch, husband, father, and grandfather, who worked as a farmer, a truck driver, a butcher, and an associate at Marshall and Marshall Funeral Directors; she as tireless, tender, dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, loving and caring much and loved and cared for just as much.

Carolyn was supremely dedicated to her own children and their families:

Steve (and Maria Jose Ruiz Blanco) of Ada, Oklahoma; Lisa Benton-Nielsen (and Melissa) of Denton; and Brian (and Lyndsae) Benton of Fort Worth. Their lives were forever undergirded by her unquestioned love, her generous and loving support in all things, and her deep and abiding delight in each of them. Her five grandchildren found in her an abiding, affirming joy as she did in them. They are Olivia Nuss (and Patrick) of Azle; Emilio, Pablo, and Nina Benton of Ada, Oklahoma; and Norah Benton-Nielsen of Denton.

Generations of her now widespread family of origin have received that same secure love and loved her as well from near and far. As have Jim's family and those of her children's spouses. And beyond them, she offered the gift of family to all whose lives crossed paths with her own.

As an expression of her faith, her concern for all people, and her lifelong passion for education and learning, both in a classroom and beyond, Carolyn was called and served as a public high school math teacher for over thirty years, interrupting that span for the preschool years of her three children and ending with great reluctance only when her health made her unable to continue. Her enduring impact on students, colleagues, administrators, and even school districts included the subjects she taught and the loving attention she gave to each student; the never-ending participation in every training and learning opportunity available to her and sharing of what she learned with all; her intense, thoughtful attention to details of every aspect of her work in the classroom, as department chair, and in leadership with planning and decision-making for every school; her model of the best in teaching and the most expansive commitment to and curiosity about learning always and everywhere.

Carolyn will be honored by family and friends Saturday, June 6, at the Marshall and Marshall Funeral Directors in Hillsboro with a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. followed immediately by a graveside service at Hillcrest Garden of Memories. The family will be at the funeral home beginning at 10:00 a.m. to greet and share with their extended family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Carolyn Frank Benton to Doctors Without Borders or United Way of Denton County.