Jen Benson-Hughes

Jennifer “Jen” Benson-Hughes left this world on April 19, 2019, nine days after her 40th birthday. She leaves behind a loving family and 4-year-old son, Benson. Her parents, three brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends from West Virginia, Florida, in the Florida Park Service, and beyond are missing one of the finest, brightest lights that ever streaked across the prairie sky.

This GoFundMe was set up by two of Jen’s closest friends, Nicky Aiken and Claire Goforth, to benefit Jen’s parents, Joyce and George Benson, and help provide for their care of her son.
ABOUT JEN:
Jen Benson-Hughes, a biologist at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, lived a life of service, of honor, and of love. Friends, coworkers, and Florida's precious resources have benefited from her beauty and passion. As Jen's KPPSP coworkers Frank Verella, Alex Creager, and Natalie Carlson all say, "Prairie Jen was amazing." So many others saw her passion and were inspired by her work. Jen always shared her abilities and unique take on life and work all over the state of Florida; so many have benefited from her passion and wisdom exemplified by her work with the Florida Park Service, which included prescribed fire, dark-skies advocacy, work to save the critically endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow, and so much more.
It is difficult to find a location in Florida that is further removed from urban and suburban light pollution than KPPSP. After years of Jen's hard work, in 2016, the preserve was recognized as Florida's first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. It was one of the proudest moments of her career.
Loving to her core, a value instilled in her by her family, with whom she was incredibly close, Jen relished motherhood. Her son is a kind, smart, outgoing 4-year-old who is a joy to all who know him. So much of Jen is in her son Benson.
If you can, we ask you to donate to Jen. Funds will go the Benson family to help with memorial services and other mounting fees; any remaining funds will benefit their care of Jen's son.
Read Jen’s obituary here . As many emotions we have that her life was taken far too soon, we are more grateful that she was part of ours.
-Nicky and Claire
FROM CLAIRE:
I had the great honor of being Jen’s best friend since childhood. We met when I moved in “next door” (two fields and a creek away) in our mountain home of Paw Paw, West Virginia. I was 6, she was 8, and my stepsister, Niki, was 10. Growing up, we played, camped, had sleepovers, and explored the majestic Appalachian Mountains. We all treasured our idyllic childhood, but especially Jen. The Bensons are the type of family other people look up to, but they don’t look down on anyone.

By the time we reached our teens, we were inseparable. It is incomprehensible that I will spend the rest of my life without Jen; ours was a friendship to the meat and marrow of our beings. As much as my heart is broken, I am also so grateful for those 32 years we had together.
Jen was called into the natural sciences at an early age. I recall her excitement over a microscope she received for her birthday when we were very young. One of my family’s favorite stories about little Jen was when she showed up at our doorstep with a shoebox containing baby animals she’d rescued after their mother was hit by a car. They were possums. If you’ve never seen a baby possum, trust that it has a face only a mother—or someone with a huge, gentle heart, like Jen—could love. She was born to love and to be loved. Standing by her side as she grew into the incredible woman, mother and advocate for the natural world that she became has been the highest honor. I will love her forever. -Claire

FROM NICKY:
It is hard to write about such a special person. I met Jen when she found her passion in 2005 while working together at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park  and instantly loved her totally wild, weird, and wonderful personality. She always inspired me with her scientific mind and artist's eye. As friend and co-worker Evan Hall, another KPPSP alumni, said "she waved at everyone on the road, even outside of the park, she didn't know them but that didn't matter."
As Evan and I reminisced about our friend Jen we agreed that she was the best of all of us. For a couple of years, she left KPPSP to serve at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park  in Keystone Heights until Daniel Willis called her home to her precious prairie.
Daniel knew that few people could fill the role of biologist better than Jen because of her schooling, personal studying, passion beyond compare, knowledge, sharp wit, intelligence, kindness, and love. She will be missed beyond what words can say. Her legacy will live on in her honor. -Nicky
Note: After only two days, we are blown away by the response and by how many people loved our Jen. Thank you, and bless you!