Eloise Benton Rhett

Please click here to view the live stream of the funeral service. The live stream of the funeral service for Mrs. Eloise B. Rhett will begin at 11:30am on Friday, January 21st.

The Life and Times of Eloise Benton Rhett

Sunrise…

Eloise Benton Rhett was born March 12, 1938, in Jonesville, SC to the late Harry Luther Benton, Sr. and Queen Esther (Williams) Benton.

A life well lived…..

Eloise graduated from Jasper High School in 1957.  While in high school, she excelled in all her classes and won accolades for her dress designs from home economics.  Her love for sewing continued for many years after high school as she made many outfits for herself and later for her daughter, always making it seem effortless.  She was also a member of the Commercial Club, the Glee Club, and was a member of the Jasperian Yearbook staff.  Her senior year, she and her classmate Eloise Frazier wrote the class song for the class of 1957.

After graduating from high school, Eloise moved upstate New York to work at the Wassaic State School.  After living there for almost three years, she returned home to marry Thomas Randall Rhett in Hampton, South Carolina on January 23, 1960.  For several years after they were married, Eloise traveled with her husband to many of his duty stations, including Fort Carson, Colorado, Munich, Germany where their daughter Cynthia Mavis was born, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where their son Eric Randall was born. 

Once the family moved to Ridgeland, South Carolina, Eloise began working in the Jasper County School System as a paraprofessional.  It was during these years that she worked with many students to foster in them the same of love of learning that she instilled in her own children.  To this day, many of her former students remember Mrs. Rhett as a firm, but caring educator who was always concerned about not only their education, but also concerned about how they were doing as individuals.  Eloise worked with the school system until her retirement in 1998.

Eloise was baptized and joined Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Yemassee, South Carolina at an early age.  As a member of the church, she enjoyed singing on the choir and preparing baked goods and other dishes for church functions. 

In her spare time, Eloise enjoyed walking with her friends Vicky Brown and the late Mrs. Katie Hill.  The walks were intended to provide a good source of exercise for the ladies, but for Eloise, it was a great way to keep up with the happenings in the community and an opportunity to see people that she did not run into very often. She also enjoyed reading, a hobby that was evidenced by the many and varied book titles that are still present in her home.

Sunset…

Eloise Benton Rhett peacefully departed this life on January 1, 2022, at the Anne Arundel County Medical Center.  Her new life in Heaven finds her mind and body restored to that of her prime. 

She was preceded in death by her sisters Betty Gadson and Ethel Mae Rhett and sisters-in-law Kay Benton and Jean Rhett, and niece Michelle D. Rhett

Those who remain to cherish her memory…

Eloise leaves to cherish her memory daughter Cynthia Rhett Adams of Bowie Maryland, son Eric Randall Rhett and daughter-in-law Melissa Rhett of Blythewood South Carolina son-in-law Rodney Adams of Waldorf,  Maryland , brother Harry Luther Benton, Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina, grandson Austin Rhett of Naval Base Rota, Spain, granddaughters Alaina Rhett of Columbia South Carolina and Payton Adams of Bowie Maryland, husband Thomas Rhett of Newport News, Virginia, brothers-in-law Malachi Rhett of Petersburg, Virginia, and Nathaniel Gadson (Theresa) of Dover, Delaware, , nephews Errol Rhett (Stephanie) of Guyton, Georgia, Sean Rhett (Joy) of McDonough Georgia, niece Ladiner Blaylock (Prentis) of Durham North Carolina, nephews Malachi Eugene Rhett of Accokeek, Maryland, Gary Rhett (Connie) of Baltimore Maryland, and Troy Gadson of New Jersey, and a host of cousins, family and friends.