Benedict's Home and Garden

A Tribute in Memoriam

Merna Bingham Benedict Goett, 1932-2021

Merna Benedict Goett, 88, of Monroe, died peacefully at home on February 28 surrounded by her loving family. Merna grew up in Hudson, Ohio and later attended The Ohio State University, where she earned her degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and met her husband, William Benedict. After Bill received his doctorate, Merna and family moved back to Stepney, CT to Bill’s family farmstead and business. Throughout the 1960s Merna kept extremely busy raising her four children (Becky, Bruce, Mark, and Jane), freezing and canning the bounty of fruits and vegetables and meat from the family farm, extending the family budget through sales of chicken eggs (delivered!) and working part-time at the local pharmacy. After an extended illness, Bill passed away in 1973. While working hard to successfully preserve the family business after Bill’s death, Merna met and later married John E. (Jack) Goett. Merna was very involved with the expansion of what is now Benedict’s Home & Garden over the years as her family grew with the marriages of her children, births of 11 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Merna loved her family dearly and was devoted to them all. She was heartbroken in the last year of her life at the loss of her youngest child, Jane, to cancer. Merna was a very generous and kind person and will be missed dearly.