Sylvia Richards Benedict

Sylvia Richards Benedict of College Station, Texas died Saturday, August 15, 2020 from complications of Parkinson’s disease, at the age of 87.

Sylvia was born February 4, 1933, in Akron, New York to John William Richards and Florence Swift Richards, the youngest of their 3 children. Her family lived in New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware where she graduated from Georgetown High School in 1950. After returning to New York, they resided in Ithaca where Sylvia attended the Cascadilla School and Cornell University. Sylvia met Chauncey R. Benedict (Chan) at Cornell and they were married on August 28, 1954 on campus in Sage Chapel. Chan and Sylvia lived in Indiana while he earned his Ph.D. at Purdue University. They moved to Hanover, New Hampshire for Chan’s post-doctoral work at Dartmouth College, and then to Detroit, Michigan for Chan’s position at Wayne State University. In 1966 they moved to College Station, Texas where Chan became a Professor of Biochemistry at Texas A&M University.

Sylvia was an outstanding homemaker and beloved mother to their daughters, Sarah and Wendy. She created enduring family traditions, and her eye for detail and talents in the kitchen made the holidays magical. Sylvia’s influence and traditions are part of the fabric of the family and will endure in their lives. She was a tireless seeker of knowledge and reader of fiction, nonfiction, and current events. She instilled a love of reading in both of her daughters. Sylvia engaged in thoughtful conversation about any topic from history to politics to sports–often informing and correcting in equal measure. She was a volunteer in school libraries and served as the first librarian for A&M Methodist Church in College Station, which she and Chan attended for many years. Sylvia appreciated classical symphony, opera, and ballet and regularly attended performances in her younger years. She was an accomplished seamstress and enjoyed knitting and other needlework. For many years she was a part of Wendy’s horseback riding activities, owning and caring for many horses. Sylvia had tremendous love for animals and she raised and cared for numerous dogs and cats. She was supportive of her husband’s career and her daughters’ interests and families. Sylvia was very involved in the lives of her grandchildren as they grew up in College Station.

Sylvia was preceded in death by both of her parents, her brother Dr. John W. Richards, Jr., and her granddaughter, Lydia Claire Adams. Sylvia was survived by her husband of 66 years, Dr. Chauncey R. Benedict, of College Station, Texas; her daughters, Sarah Benedict Adams and husband Dr. Sjoerd Adams of College Station, Texas and Wendy L. Benedict and husband Dane P. Schneider of Houston, Texas; and her grandchildren, Meredith Adams of Kew Gardens, New York, Philip Adams of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Caroline Adams of College Station, Texas. She was also survived by her sister, Rosemary Richards Centini of Ithaca, New York, and nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank Encompass Home Health and Brazos Valley Hospice for their care and especially Comfort Keepers of Bryan-College Station for their loving care of Sylvia. Callaway-Jones Funeral and Cremation Center provided cremation and interment at the College Station Cemetery and a private family gathering was held.