Cover photo for Joni Alane Benedict's Obituary
Joni Alane Benedict Profile Photo
1958 Joni 2021

Joni Alane Benedict

June 6, 1958 — November 28, 2021

Joni Alane (Smith) Benedict, 63, of Foreston, died peacefully at her home, surrounded by family, on November 28thafter a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Funeral services will be held Friday, December 3, 2021 at 12 Noon at Milaca Ev. Free Church.  Interment will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery in Milaca.  Visitation will take place from 10 AM – 12 Noon at the church on Friday.

Joni was born June 6th, 1958 to Neil and Ramona (Jacobson) Smith in Milaca, MN.  She married Douglas Ohman on December 28, 1974.  To this marriage 3 children were born, Jeremy, Jennifer, and Jeffrey. She was then united in marriage to James Benedict on November 24th, 1990.  She resided in Foreston, MN.

Joni graduated from St. Cloud Technical College on June 4th, 1991 with a diploma in accounting.  She worked at Bremer Bank until 1992 when her and Jim started Tri-State Fire Protection.  They sold their company to Summit Fire Protection in 2002 where she worked as an Administrative Assistant until her retirement in September 2020.

Joni was affectionately known as ‘Grandma Cookie” to her six grandkids as well as many other “grandkids”.  She enjoyed knitting Christmas stockings for loved ones, basking in the sun on a floaty chair in the lake, and working on puzzles.  She loved to entertain and was often the life of the party.  It filled her heart to be able to cook a big meal for her family and anyone else who wanted to come along. 

Christmas was her favorite time of year. She enjoyed baking cookies for everyone and spoiling her kids and grandkids. 

Joni is survived by her children Jeremy (Stephanie) Ohman, Jenny (Kyle) DeVries, and Jeff (Danae) Ohman, all of Foreston; six grandchildren Claire, Taylor, Kyra, Charlie, Morgan, and Lucas; significant other Russ Lipkie of Foreston; brother Jamie (Linda) Smith of Appleton, WI; brothers-in-law Butch (Rhonda) Broberg of Robbinsdale and Jim (Vicki) Mickelson of Milaca; sister-in-law and life-long friend Kathy Ohman of Foreston; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. 

She was preceded in death by her parents Neil and Ramona “Tootsie” Smith; sisters Jackie Mickelson and Jean Broberg.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Joni Alane Benedict, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Friday, December 3, 2021

10:00am - 12:00 pm (Central time)

Milaca Evangelical Free Church

1100 Central Ave N, Milaca, MN 56353

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Funeral Service

Friday, December 3, 2021

Starts at 12:00 pm (Central time)

Milaca Evangelical Free Church

1100 Central Ave N, Milaca, MN 56353

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 49

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree