| Graduation Year | Class of 1971 |
| Date of Passing | Apr 20, 2010 |
| About | December 3, 1952 to April 20, 2010 posted TCH April 21, 2010 FOUL PLAY NOT SUSPECTED IN WOMAN'S DEATH NEAR CANAL By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer A 57-year-old Kennewick woman found dead near an irrigation canal near Finley likely was there overnight after leaving her nearby home, officials said. DeeAnna Sue Benward's body was found around 1:50 p.m. Tuesday by a Columbia Irrigation District employee, said Benton County sheriff's Capt. Steve Keane. An autopsy was expected to be performed Wednesday afternoon, but investigators said there was no indication her death was caused by foul play. Items in Benward's fanny pack indicated she may have possible health issues and neighbors said she had a similar episode where she became disoriented while driving about a week ago, authorities said. Detectives are investigating, but Keane said it appears Benward left her home after making a call on her cell phone around 6 p.m. She lived on a nearby private road and was going in the opposite direction of her home, Keane said. Deputies found tracks that indicated Benward was driving down Piert Road when her 2000 Mercury Mystique veered off the road and through some vegetation, Keane said. She crossed over the same road, then went through a barbed wire fence, fields, Russian olive trees and along other fences before getting stuck in mud, he said. Benward's car was locked when deputies checked it. She apparently walked a couple of hundred yards away from her car, entered the canal that was filled with waist-deep water and exited the canal about 12 feet away, Keane said. That is where the CID employee found her. The exact cause and time of death are not known, but Keane said investigators think Benward was at the irrigation canal overnight. Autopsy results were not immediately available Wednesday evening. Posted TCH May 2, 2010 Deanna S. Benward (Cooper) was born on December 3, 1952, at Kennewick General Hospital and went to be with the Lord on April 19, 2010. She was raised in Kennewick, WA, and resided in Finley. One of her biggest accomplishments was earning her AA degree in Criminal Justice. After earning this she went to work fo Boise Cascade as a guard. Since 1991 she worked at Hanford as a custodian. She belonged to Columbia Classics and Beatnik car clubs. She was a car enthusiast and loved her 1929 Ford Model A Pickup that she received for a Mother's Day present. She loved spending time at the local car shows and always loved to go to the Yakima car show every year as well as Cool Desert Nights. She is preceded in death by her parents, Phillip & Beatrice Cooper; brother Larry; late husband, Gene Benward; and the late Dick Hillebrandt. She is survived by her sister, Phillis Newman; brother, Garry Cooper; and her two children, Ja-Ja Rosencrans and J-me Hatch along with Josh Hatch. She also leaves behind 4 grandchildren, Ja-Cie Edwards, Jolie & Cooper Jensen, and Marie Hatch. As well as many other friends and family. We would like to thank all the people that were a part of Deanna's life. We will be having a memorial May 22, 11:00 a.m. at the Finley Grange 223005 Main Street, Kennewick, WA. There will be food following the service, anyone wishing to bring a dessert or something to drink would be greatly appreciated. Ruth 1:16 -- But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." |
