Maria Santistevan Obituary

Bennie went to heaven at the age of 82 at a hospice care unit in Hendersonville, NC after a months-long illness. Bennie was born March 10, 1939, in Rosa, NM to Libradita (Abeyta) and Enrique Rivera with Grandma Josefa as the midwife. She grew up in Ignacio, CO, graduating from Ignacio High School in 1957. She met her only husband Maximilliano Santistevan and they moved to California. After their divorce, she moved to Connecticut with her three sons in 1972 and then in 1992 moved to North Carolina.

She is survived by son Gregory (Christine), grandson Andrew, sister Agnes Sanchez (Jim), Rivera brothers Gilbert, Pete (Linda), Fred (Mickey), Orlando (Nellie), and Richard. She was preceded in death by her sons, Anthony and Matthew, and her sisters Anna, Mary, and Cecilia. Viola, Maryann, her brother Joe and her parents. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews and many close friends. Bennie who was always the nurturer of all, would take in her niece Maria and other family members, helping them to get established!

Bennie worked in sales most of her adult life, from Allen Mfg. tools in CT, automotive parts, and real estate in NC and was quite successful in all. She made many friends in Hendersonville, as she had in California and Connecticut, with her outgoing activities in the arts and volunteer work for the Hendersonville Symphony, participation in book clubs, and support of the local art scene. She was an accomplished artist herself, having ribboned in several art shows. Bennie was a supporter of the local Hendersonville Boys and Girls Club and the Western North Carolina Public Radio. She was a lover of music, spending year after year at the Spoleto Arts festival in Charleston, NC volunteering to usher in as many performances as possible!

Bennie was fiercely independent and lived her life as she wanted. She loved to entertain and fix great meals in her charming, vintage stone home and with her friends at their homes. She loved to travel, especially by car, to various museums, crisscrossed the US several times for vacation and for her sales jobs, as well as Mexico and Canada. She loved international travel, having been to Europe and places in the Caribbean, and Mexico, to name a few.

Services for Bennie will be held Saturday, June 25, 2022 at St. Peter & St. Rosa Catholic Church, 18851 Hwy 151, Arboles CO. Rosary at 9:30, mass at 10:00, and internment in the New Rosa Cemetery off CR 975, Arboles, CO. A pot luck reception will be held at the church hall.