Rose Omar Benson was born on April 17th, 1935 on the family farm near Ross, North Dakota. That day, the world changed, and a dear soul was born. The third child of Samuel and Nazira (Kurdi) Omar, she was raised in North Dakota on the family farm her father homesteaded in 1903. She went to Ross High School, played a mean game of basketball on the girls’ team and graduated in May 1953.
Rose loved dancing and spent time with her friends and siblings at Ponchos in White Earth while working in Stanley, North Dakota. She met a tall drink of water from East Texas, Jeptha (J.D.) Benson, whom she married on May 30, 1960. This was the beginning of her long banking career and the start of her family. Their only child, Cynthia Benson was born in March 1961. Rose was married to the love of her life for 51 years, until his death in 2011 to cancer.

Rose and J.D. started their life together in Big Piney, Wyoming in a very small trailer house. J.D. began his career with Halliburton Services and Rose worked at the bank. A career she loved and enjoyed. They moved several times during their marriage, from Big Piney to Glendive, Montana, Tioga, North Dakota, Gillette, Wyoming, Havre, Montana and lastly, Williston, North Dakota.

Rose’s hobbies included baking and she was famous for her fudge and caramels, which she made every Christmas and kept a stash for special occasions. She also made excellent Matrimony bars and Sour cream raisin pie. She loved traveling with her husband, making numerous trips to places he was consulting in the oil field, as well as trips to Alaska, California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Canada to see friends and family. She and her husband were avid readers and she loved reading suspense novels by Harland Coben, Patricia Cornwell and Greg Iles among others. She was also a snappy dresser who enjoyed shopping for clothes. She passed her love of fashion to her daughter Cynthia, who made the apparel industry her career. She enjoyed staying in touch with friends and family and called to check up on everyone on a regular basis. She also loved animals, including her beloved dog, Misty, as well as horses, which she loved to ride. Rose and J.D. went horseback riding on several occasions in Montana and Medora, North Dakota.

After a peaceful end, following a period of hardship and a broken heart, Rose is now home with her much loved husband, as well as family and friends she has missed for a long time. She is in a place where she can ride horses, dance to her hearts content and laugh as much as she likes.

Surviving Rose is her daughter, Cynthia Benson; sisters, Mary Ann (Omar) Wing, Raye Faith Omar; brother, Joseph Omar.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jeptha Benson; parents, Samuel and Nazira (Kurdi) Omar; sister Fatima (Omar) Miller, brother Abraham Omar, brother Raymond Omar, sister Beverly (Omar) Horst and brother Fredrick Omar.

Memorial Contribution