Lindsey Elizabeth Benne

Lindsey Elizabeth (Easton) Benne, 83, died of natural causes on September 19, 2026, at her home in Decatur, GA.

She was born in Des Moines, IA, on Christmas Eve in 1942 to M.E. “Bill” Easton and Ada (Scharbach) Easton. Bill and Ada moved to Lawrence, Kansas, four years later, where Bill continued his career coaching track & field and cross country at the University of Kansas. Lindsey’s early summer days were spent around Ely, Minnesota, either at her family’s Camp Easton for Boys or across Little Long Lake at Camp Northland. Camp meant being outdoors, fishing, and, of course, evenings around the fire singing songs. Eventually, she convinced her dad to let her work at Camp Easton and earn savings from working with the cooks.

After graduating from Lawrence High School, Lindsey attended the University of Kansas. At first, she pursued a physical education degree, but her talent in music was obvious and she switched to the arts. She met her future husband of 17 years, Darrell Benne, while student-teaching in his high school music classroom in Shawnee Mission, KS. His conducting was lovely, she always said. When they arrived at the end-of-year staff party together, everyone knew it was meant to be. Lindsey graduated from the University of Kansas in August, 1965 with a degree in music education and remained a lifelong Jayhawk. That same month, Lindsey and Darrell married in Lawrence, KS.

Darrell’s large, extended family and Lindsey’s parents would become very close over the years. Both deeply valued the community of family connections and would often gather together on vacations and holidays. In 1973, the couple and their boys settled in Springfield, MO, where Darrell chaired the Drury College (now University) Music Department and Lindsey taught voice lessons and sold real estate. Tuesday evenings were devoted to practicing with the Mid-America Singers, where Darrell conducted and Lindsey sang alto. If you ever sat in front of the Bennes in church, you knew they were both excellent singers.

When Darrell died in 1982, Lindsey was left to raise two teenage sons. She remained in Springfield to see her two boys through school, owned a picture framing business and continued performing, including with Springfield Little Theatre and The Springfield Regional Opera.

After a short stint in Blue Springs, MO, Lindsey and her mom relocated to the Atlanta area to take up grandmother duties. She soon found the Decatur Civic Chorus and began a 25-year adventure singing with this well-established group and serving as Assistant Director. 

Lindsey grew up equally at home around well-set tables entertaining the University sporting crowd and on the lake, where she knew how to bait a hook, clean the fish, and fry it to perfection. Her love of music took her from those early campfires all the way to performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and Canterbury Cathedral in England. Her melodic laugh was unforgettable. She always had a mystery novel going, enjoyed sewing, collected Christmas ornaments and, for years, painted beautiful watercolors of wildflowers. She could meet strangers with ease, disarm them with her smile, and talk about anything—and in those conversations she gave you her full attention. And while she often had an opinion about things, she remained curious and open until the end. 

Lindsey was a long-time member of P.E.O., a sisterhood she enjoyed for decades. She was initiated in Chapter CW Kansas in 1965, transferred to Chapter JL Missouri in 1974, and finished out as a member of Chapter Z Georgia when she moved to the Atlanta area. 

She is survived by her two sons, Christopher of Atlanta and Gregory of Springfield, six grandchildren and a plethora of extended family and friends. 

Visitation will be held Friday, October 16, 2026, from 4–6 p.m., with a memorial service on Saturday, October 17, at 11 a.m., both at A.S. Turner and Sons, 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA. In Kansas, a memorial service followed by burial will take place beginning at 11 a.m. on November 21, 2026, at Saint Teresa’s Catholic Church in Westphalia, KS.