Louise Benner, age 91, passed away on December 6, 2025, in Raleigh, NC.

Louise, born in Pinehurst, NC, to Henry Wright Dorn and Elliotte Anna Finch Dorn, grew up in Southern Pines, NC. She was predeceased by her brother, Robert Dorn, sister, Dorothy “Dottie” Dorn Couch, and half-sister, Ellen Dorn Garman.

Louise lived 24 years in Miami, Florida, where she met her husband, Joseph Abner Benner, Jr., and had four daughters. They moved to Raleigh, NC, in 1976, where Louise lived 46 years until moving to Black Mountain, NC, where she could look out her window and see her beloved mountains.

She attended Barry College (now Barry University) and earned her BS in Home Economics with minors in Education and English, while becoming fast and permanent friends with Joanne Kaspert, who has remained her faithful friend to this day.

An avid food lover and adventurer, Louise loved to travel the world and pursue cultures and experiences. As a forever Girl Scout, she often piled her van full of camping equipment and her daughters to find a state or national park to explore. We can all picture her with hiking boots and a backpack, be it at Yellowstone, the Great Smoky Mountains, or in Europe. She was slow and steady on the trail, always able to pull off a delicious camp meal, and loved to relax by a campfire.

Louise was a lifelong learner. She was an expert seamstress, a great “farmers market to table” cook, and an avid reader. She earned a Masters Degree in Clothing and Textiles with an emphasis on historic costume at age 59, and became a Curator of Clothing and Textiles at the NC Museum of History, where she spent many years researching and sharing her love of North Carolina History. Her hand written or meticulously typed “Louise files” are still referenced on occasion at the museum today. When she wasn’t working, she was most likely traveling abroad or reading a good book and sipping hot Irish Breakfast Tea.

She will be greatly missed by her four daughters and their husbands: Martha and George Hokayem of Gainesville, GA, Anne and Jim Davis of Columbia, SC, Sarah and George Scott of Swannanoa, NC, Alice and David Spickard of Raleigh, NC, and her 13 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

Her family would like to thank the staff at Bloomsbury at Hayes Barton Place and the Liberty Hospice Team for their excellent and kind care of our mother.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Christ the King Presbyterian Church, 1417 Clifton Street, Raleigh, NC 27604, at 10:30am on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.