Veretta Washington Benn of Ann Arbor, Mich., passed away Sunday, Sept. 29, 2002, after losing a long battle with heart and lung disease.

She was born on June 14, 1921 in Powhatan, W.Va., the daughter of Equilla and Sheridena Washington. She was raised in Elkhorn, W.Va. and received a bachelor’s degree from Bluefield State College and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Hampton Institute. For approximately 15 years she taught Home Economics at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, and retired as a guidance counselor after 22 years from the Suffolk City School System in Suffolk.

She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority – Zeta Epsilon Omega Chapter; a former member of the Suffolk Teacher Association and the Virginia State Teacher Association; The Chums Club of Suffolk; the Bluefield State Alumni Chapter; the Episcopal Church Women and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Suffolk.

She took pride in creative home making, found peace in fishing along the Virginia coastal waters and recently enjoyed keeping up with the professional basketball teams. Most of all she cherished her one grandchild who turned two the day before Veretta’s passing. After becoming ill in 1997 she moved from Suffolk to Ann Arbor to live near her daughter.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Winifred T. Benn from Suffolk.

She is survived by her daughter, Winnetha S. Benn-Burton, son-in-law, Larry A. Burton, and granddaughter, Allea J. Burton, of Ann Arbor, Mich.; cousins, Maretta &uot;Deanie&uot; Jackson of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Sylvia Shipp of Bluefield, W.Va.; aunts, Inez Cooper of Piscataway, N.J.; Naomi Moseley Minneapolis, Minn.; and Jacquetta Smith of Bluefield; and several cousins, nieces, nephews, and good friends.

The funeral will be held at 11 am. Saturday with viewing at 10 a.m. in Richardson Funeral Home, 910 Bland St., Bluefield, W.Va. 24701. Burial will follow in Restlawn Memorial Gardens in Bluewell, W.Va. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Lung Assoc.