Norma Benner Remembered as Club President, 2009-2011

The Video Club mourns the passing of Past-President and Historian Norma Benner on September 1, 2023 after a series of recent health crises, including back fractures with GI and lung dysfunction. A message from the Benner family told us: “Toward the end she declined most visitors except for some family, hoping to be remembered as her earlier, more vibrant self. A memorial service will be held on November 18, 2023. If you would like to receive an invitation please send a message to delybe@gmail.com. Please include your first & last name, phone number, address, & relationship to Norma (club friend).

“Feel free to send Neil a card or letter of condolence. However, we kindly request no flowers, plants, or other gifts at this time. If you would like to visit Neil, please send an email message…. Advanced notice is preferred; we will get back to you as we are able.”

Began Video Contests and Awards Banquets

Norma enjoyed making her own videos and served the Video Club as President for three years, 2009-2011, leading the club through a key formative period. Progress was made in building membership and teaching video editing. Our Annual Awards Banquet and Short Video Contest (now known as the Goldie Awards) were established – the banquet in 2009, the contest in 2011. See Norma’s account of the banquet’s evolution, presented in her original graphic.

Under Norma’s leadership, equipment was added to the Video Lab to help residents convert old media to modern digital formats, and the Video Studio was kept busy. Members recorded memories of Village residents who were World War II veterans in a joint project with the Village Library and the Library of Congress, as well as memories of older residents in the club’s Remarkable Lives series. A monthly author interviews program for the Writers Club was also produced in the Video Studio for Village Television. On location, members recorded Village Games and other activities.

Born in Arizona, Grew Up on California Truck Farm

Norma Flo McLaws Benner was born in Arizona on February 26, 1932, and her family moved to Southern California when she was eight. During World War II, they lived on a 20-acre truck farm in the San Fernando Valley, previously owned by interred Japanese, where Norma and her siblings helped sell produce. In 1950, she graduated from North Hollywood High School and worked as a switchboard operator at Pacific Telephone in Hollywood. She later attending California Community Colleges and took classes at the University of Hawaii, UCLA, and other universities.

Sp ace

In 1951, Norma married Neil Benner in an Hawaiian Latter Day Saints (LDS) temple. The couple lived in Naval housing while Neil served two years in Pearl Harbor and attended the University of Hawaii. From 1953-57, Norma worked three jobs in Paris, and Neil attended the Sorbonne University. Back in California, Norma worked as a secretary at Lockheed Aircraft from 1955 to1957, when the Benners began their family. Initially Neil had worked as a mathematician in the aerospace industry, but following his first French-speaking mission for the LDS church abroad, he decided to change careers and became a French teacher.

Neil Taught at Santa Ana College

In 1962, the Benners purchased a home in Costa Mesa, and Neil began his teaching career at Santa Ana College. In 1969, the couple traveled with four children and a new-born to France on Neil’s sabbatical leave. A1980 sabbatical again took the family to France. In 1981, Norma worked temporary jobs to help support the children’s music and gymnastics, then worked full-time to help with their college expenses. In 1995-1996, the couple spent 18 months in Madagascar, Reunion, and Mauritius, French-speaking islands in the Indian Ocean.

In 2003, the Benners moved to then Leisure World (now Laguna Woods Village), where Norma became active in the Video Club. Over the years, Norma and Neil also traveled to Mexico, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Germany, The Rock of Gilbralter, North and South Africa, Australia, and Tahiti – and drove across the United States three times.

Service to the LDS Church

Neil and Norma were called to shepherd Senior Singles for their LDS Church, planning an activity every week for 14 years. Norma also created teaching materials for the church and taught “Becoming A Better Parent” – the LDS version of “Parent Effectiveness Training” (PET) – becoming a certified instructor. She created and taught “Becoming the Woman You Want to Be” at the Santa Ana YWCA, where she also taught conversational French.

Throughout the years, Norma pursued her lifelong interests in learning, gardening, and connecting with people – the latter skill being one for which the Video Club fondly remembers her. She is survived by her husband, Neil, six children, and 11 grandchildren.