Genevieve Mary (Danberg) Benedict, who recently resided at Linden Ponds Independent and Assisted Living Facility in Hingham, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The cause of death was a ruptured aortic aneurysm. As a retired OR registered nurse, she had realized what was happening, and summoned help immediately.
She bantered with the vascular surgeon and OR nurses as she entered the OR for the minimally invasive four-hour repair, all confident the repair would go fine. She said she had assisted on this very procedure many times, and encouraged the team to get on with the procedure and that she would see them in four hours. Unfortunately, she went into cardiac arrest, and although a team of 20 worked on her for over an hour, they could not bring her back.
Genevieve was born on Jan. 25, 1941, to Victor Allan Danberg and Genevieve Catharine (Oscar) Danberg of Edgartown, where she attended the Edgartown schools, and graduated as salutatorian of the class of 1958. Her class of 22 was the next to last to graduate from Edgartown High School.
Brothers and sisters share your years as no one else does. They know more than anyone what your childhood and home life was like. Gen and sister Vicki had a great childhood in Edgartown, starting with what happened after Pearl Harbor, when Gen was less than a year old.
Our dad, Victor A. Danberg, was in the first class to graduate from the new Edgartown High School in the class of 1926, and could run boats of any size. He was recruited by the OSS (precursor of the CIA) as a “confidential observer,” one of 1,200 designated by the U.S. Navy during World War II, to be trained on a new technology called radar, to go out on dangerous missions on specially equipped fishing vessels, to search for and report sightings and locations of U-boats along the East Coast.
Our dad knew that baby Gen loved bananas, nearly impossible to come by during the war, and whenever he put into New Bedford, he scoured the docks for anyone carrying bananas, and bought or bartered for bananas for his beloved baby Genevieve.
Gen was by nature a kind and caring person. She was always looking for people who needed help, and helped them in every way she could. From early childhood she always knew she wanted to be a nurse, and became an RN. When she was in elementary school she got a nurse’s kit for Christmas, and around the house she wore the white uniform, the hat, and carried her stethoscope around her neck. That training paid off, and Gen went on to receive her RN at St. Lukes Hospital School of Nursing in 1961, after which she had a very successful career in nursing in many New England hospitals.
Genevieve began her long career in nursing in Boston hospitals; she could run any floor, and was a sought-after instructor for both nurses and medical students. She taught head and neck anatomy to Harvard Medical students at New England Deaconess, and spent many years as an operating room nurse in Boston, at the VA Hospital in West Haven, Conn., and at Cardinal Cushing and Brockton Hospitals.
After her mother had a stroke at age 86, Gen lovingly cared for her for six years, and brought her mom to her home in Edgartown to connect with her old friends as often as she could. Gen’s love of the Vineyard brought her back to the Island full-time after Harold retired; they purchased a home in Edgartown on Chapman Lane. She loved running into old friends, many of whom she had known since school days, and enjoyed working part-time at the M.V. Hospital.
Gen had many hobbies: She was a prolific knitter, and great lover of mystery novels, beginning with the Nancy Drew mystery series, all of which she read and reread as a young girl. She moved on to Agatha Christie novels. She read and reread all 66 novels and 14 short stories with delight, as well as Sherlock Holmes and many other classics of the genre.
Gen was a great adventurer; whether on windjammer cruises in the Gulf of Maine, driving treks across Europe, or trips to visit sister Vicki in South America, Gen was always ready for the next international venture. She and her fellow nursing colleagues trekked far and wide. Her dad taught her and sister Vicki to handle any boat, and to water-ski in Edgartown Harbor.
She bought her first car, a 1961 VW in Germany, drove it all over Europe with friends and luggage crammed in, and shipped it home. She did the same with her adored orange Karmann Ghia.
In 1975 Gen soloed in a four-seater 1956 Cessna 172 aircraft at Marshfield Airport. With no working radio or brakes, Gen became a true bush pilot, following in the footsteps of her dad, who soloed at Katama Airport at 19 in 1929, in a WWI Jenny after 2½ hours of flying instruction.
Gen was a crossword puzzle fiend from her teenage years. She subscribed to some newspapers just so she could do the crosswords, and sometimes threw the paper out, saving only the crossword. We estimate that she completed at least 50,000 crossword puzzles in her lifetime, and passed her passion on to her younger sister Vicki, who is likewise addicted to crosswords.
A lifelong lover and supporter of all animals, Gen and Harold adopted many hard-to-place animals in need of a home, especially black cats, who often went without adoptive homes due to prejudice and a fear of black cats.
Gen did not want to move to Linden Ponds Independent Living in Hingham unless her elderly rescue dog Prince could come with her. Prince lived to be 18 under Gen’s loving care, with the help of her wonderful friends at Linden Ponds, who walked him when it became difficult for Gen to do so.
Gen was a loyal friend and a great stepmom to all of Harold’s children and grandchildren, whom she loved dearly. She made and treasured many friends at Linden Ponds. We all loved her, and she will be greatly missed by all.
Gen was predeceased by her husband, Harold Leander Benedict, who died in 2006, and by her parents, Victor A. Danberg in 1975, and Genevieve C. Danberg in 1994. Genevieve will be lovingly remembered by her sister Victoria Danberg and her husband, Dr. John Ficarelli of Newton Centre; nephews Dr. Andrew Danberg-Ficarelli of South Boston, Alexander Ficarelli-Danberg, his wife Morgen Schroeder, and their daughter Aurora Lee, of Edgartown; niece Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli and her husband Naji Boustani of Vineyard Haven; cousins Paul Schultz, Aileen (Schultz) Jackson, Joseph and Ann Baran of Ambridge, Pa., Edward Baran of New Philadelphia, Ohio, Philip DeMailo of Locust Grove, Va., Alfred DeMailo of Michigan, Edward DeMailo and his wife Denise of Beaver, Pa.; stepchildren Leeann, Laura, Denise, Alan, and their children Amy, Stacey, Tanya, Christopher, Melanie, Steven, Michael, Nicholas, Sarah, Adam, her great-grandchildren, Ryan and Joseph; as well as by numerous friends and other relatives. Gen was predeceased by stepchildren Elaine, Mark, and Laura’s son Michael.
Genevieve’s interment was on Sunday, Nov. 10th at the old Westside Cemetery off Pease’s Point Way in Edgartown.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made in Gen’s honor to the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard (ASMV), P.O. Box 1928, Edgartown, MA 02539, or email ldawley@animalshelterofmv.org.
