Margaret Virginia Starr Benefield

(PENSACOLA, Fla.) Margaret Virginia Starr Benefield, 96, of Pensacola, Fla., passed away on Oct. 22, 2025. She was born Sept. 19, 1929 in Roanoke to the late Elizabeth Rae Breed Starr of Roanoke and the late Frank Madison Starr of Kissimmee, Fla. Margaret was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. Her friends knew her for her love of the Lord. One of her favorite verses was, “The people who know their God will display strength and take action.” (Daniel 11:32) Margaret was a woman of action who took this verse seriously. Her love of life and people with a quick wit best describe her.
Margaret attended Handley High School in Roanoke and worked as a seamstress at Palm Beach Men’s Suits after World War II. She married the late James Hiram Benefield of Wedowee, son of the late Cassie Richardson Benefield Cummings and the late Lucius Benefield of Atlanta. James and Margaret married during World War II while he was serving in the US Navy.
Margaret’s greatest joy in her young life was being a mother and homemaker. She continued with her love of sewing and made all her girls’ clothes until they left home. She sewed their wedding dresses, her mother’s business suits, and clothing for people with no money or resources. Many days she was at the sewing machine after midnight and sometimes if the need was great enough, she could be found there at dawn.
A prolific reader of all publications and books, Margaret became a student of the Bible at an early age, and later a gifted teacher of it. She kept 30 years of journals, poems and letters to family members and singing on tape. She was a performer for church fellowships, retirement homes, and family holidays. Margaret attended Precept classes and taught Bible classes for 54 years, working with indigent and disabled persons in her communities throughout Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Her teachings and example of faith was her legacy to her four daughters and grandchildren. With her compassion and intuitive nature, she was an asset to her minister husband. Margaret became a trained Hospice counselor for Northwest Florida, a member of Compassionate Friends, and Reach Out to Live after experiencing the loss of her 30 year old daughter to a life-long chronic illness.
Margaret and James cared for her mother in their home for the last seven years of her life. By example she taught her daughters and their children how to honor their parents in their later years. In lieu of flowers, the family asked for donations to Alzheimer’s Association or Precept.org.
She was a member of East Brent Baptist Church in Pensacola.
Margaret is survived by her eldest daughter, Elizabeth Starr Arthur of Collierville, Tenn.; grandson, Scott Arthur of Collierville; granddaughters: Dawn Ford Muench of Hattiesburg, Miss., Robyn Ford Townsend of Sharpsburg, Ga., April Ford McCann of Cookeville, Tenn., Allison Whitlock Spradley of Soso, Miss., and Joy Whitlock of Bartlett, Tenn. She is also survived by nephew, Albert Frank Starr, Jr. of Robertsdale; and niece, Terry Mayo of Oakdale, La. She leaves a legacy of faith and longevity for her 16 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. James Benefield; four daughters: infant Benefield, Gretta Benefield of Brandon, Miss., Wanda Laton of Pensacola and Phyllis Whitlock of Taylorsville, Miss.; her brother, Albert Frank Starr of Monroeville; and her nephews: George Starr and Gene Starr.
A 10 a.m. funeral service will be held Sat., Nov. 1, at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home, 1985 W 9 Mile Road, Pensacola.. Interment will be at 11:30 a.m. in Pensacola Memorial Gardens.