Helen Davlantes Benis
September 6, 1934 - February 3, 2021
Obituary
Helen Davlantes Benis, mother and grandmother (YiaYia in Greek) passed away on Wednesday February 3, 2021 with family by her side. She passed away peacefully following complications from cancer surgery. She was born in Ogden Utah, as the eldest daughter of Argerios (Harry) Davlantes and Katena Vitogianis. She attended Weber State College and was originally employed by Mountain Bell, one of the regional AT&T affiliates. She married Thomas (Tom) Benis in 1961. After her husband relocated to the Seattle area to work for the Boeing Company, she transferred to Pacific Northwest Bell until her children were born. She was always quiet-spoken, but also a numbers-oriented business woman. After spending a few years as a homemaker while her son Chris and daughter Cathy were young, she joined her husband’s real estate company, eventually serving as Designated Broker of Belleway Realty in Bellevue, WA. She was known as an exceptional cook and baker, specializing in dishes from her family’s Greek heritage. After Tom and Helen sold the brokerage in the mid-1970s, they focused on managing their extensive real estate holdings on the east side of Lake Washington. Helen was always the one who handled the bookkeeping for the rental business and continued right up till relocating to Aegis of Bellevue in 2018. Helen was the consummate Mother, always putting her family, children and grandchildren first. She is survived by her siblings, George Davlantes, Effie Davlantes and Mary Ann Davlantes, all of the Bay area, California, her son Christopher Thomas Benis, daughter Catherine Evangeline Jaynes, daughter in law Penelope Benis, and grandchildren Thomas Christopher Benis II, John Alexander Benis, George Nicholas Benis, Thomas Christopher Jaynes and Kayla Mia Jaynes, all of Bellevue, WA. Funeral service will be held on Friday, February 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 1804 13th Avenue, Seattle. Those unable to attend in person may watch the livestream at https://assumptionseattle.org/live_broadcast.html. Remembrances may be made to the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church building fund.