Sallie S. Benton

Sallie Lou Smith Benton, age 87, of Chapin, South Carolina, passed away on Saturday, March 25, 2023, surrounded by her family at Lexington Medical Center. Born on September 29, 1935, in Greenville, Alabama, she was the daughter of the late Edna Earl Morgan Smith and the late Charles Walden Smith, Sr. Sallie graduated from West End High School in Nashville, TN, and married her high school sweetheart, Billy Graves Benton in 1953. Bill and Sallie have lived in the Columbia and Chapin areas since 1963. Sallie was a member of Riverland Hills Baptist Church. She was also a member of the University of South Carolina Chapter of the Daughters of the America Revolution, Wade Hampton Chapter #29 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, The Good Time Steak Club, and the Lake Murray Sisters-in-Service, the Evergreen Garden Club, Chapin Woman’s Club, and served several years on the Executive Board of The Garden Club of Greater Columbia. Besides her husband of 69 years, Sallie is survived by her four children, James W. “Bill” Benton (Penny), Charles Earl Benton, Sr. (Fran), Frances Louellen Benton and Beth Benton Gantt; her sister, Sarah S. Hunter; and her brothers, Charles W. Smith, Jr. and Frederick Rufus “Buddy” Smith. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Brandi Benton (Carol), James W. “Bill” Benton IV; Sallie Williams (Robbie), Charles E. Benton, Jr. (Heather), Caroline Jorgensen (Rick), Rebecca McCoy (Joe), Chelsea Jones (Dan), Stevi Gantt, and Richard Gantt IV (Madalin) and great-grandchildren, Christian, Brandon, and Elliott Jorgensen, Elise and Hazel Benton, McKinley and Colter Jones, Hannah Benton, Garrett and Evan Williams, Ciara, Bentley and Kai Gojan, and Molly Grace Gantt. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at Temples-Halloran Funeral Home, 5400 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC, 29212, Wednesday, March 29, 2023 , from 4pm to 6pm. The funeral service for Mrs. Benton will be held on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Riverland Hills Baptist Church, Columbia, South Carolina. The Reverend Bill Haselden will officiate. Interment will follow the service at Bush River Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers; Bill Benton IV, Richard Gantt IV, Charlie Benton, Jr., Dan Jones, Rick Jorgensen and Joe McCoy.