BELFAST — Melanie Anne Benner, Jan. 1, 1924 – Jan. 21, 2019.

Melanie Anne Hagar was born Jan. 1, 1924, in the town of Freyming in the Alsace Lorraine district of France.

She and her sister, Alice, enjoyed a traditional French upbringing until the outbreak of World War II. At the end of fighting, she met a dashing Army lieutenant, Mearl Benner from Belfast. Romance blossomed and they were wed. She came to Belfast to start her life as an Army wife traveling to many U.S. and foreign stations until Mearl’s retirement in 1960, when they returned to Belfast.

Thus, started her next adventure as she embraced Maine life. She was active in her church, garden club, stock club and outdoor life. She remained in the home she and Mearl built on the old Benner farm after his death in 2000.

In 2011, she was finally enticed to move to Tulsa, Okla., where her son Ben, daughter-in-law Jodie and grandchildren Christine and Justin lived.

A memorial mass at St. Francis of Assisi will be held on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m. This will be followed by a noon interment at Grove Cemetery and a reception, 1 to 3 p.m., at Darby’s.

Memorial donations may be made to Hospice Charity Care, 15 Industrial Park Road, Saco, ME 04072. 

Arrangements under the care of Riposta Funeral Home, Belfast.