CHARISE LORENE BENNING

Charise Lorene Benning is the beautiful beloved daughter of Brenda Yvonne Benning (Bone) & Noble Benning Jr. born January 22nd, 1980. Charise was born in Oceanside, CA on Camp Pendleton Marine Corp. Base Naval Hospital. Having parents dedicated to nurturing all parts of the heart, Charise was exposed to different sports to discover her own likes & dislikes. Charise began her lifelong journey of continuous education at Scripps Ranch Elementary, Walker Elementary, Wangenheim Middle School, & Scripps Ranch High School before moving onto college. Activities started w dance, martial arts, soccer (establishing herself as an exceptional Goalie) making several travel teams, before beginning a long relationship w tennis like her father. One day while leaving a Softball league in San Diego w her father, Charise saw young children that looked like her playing tennis & was inspired to explore her interest. Charise became a very skilled tennis player, beating the #1 girl’s player from Point Loma Highschool at the young age of 13. Once Charise's baby brother, Marcus, started playing tennis, the trio was off traveling to various tournaments between Southern & Northern California, going as far as San Francisco. Charise actively played tennis up until discovering she was pregnant w Alexis. Being a young mom, Charise dove into exploring educational programs & parenting classes that ensured she graduated from high school on time. A program called the Birthing Project, which was directed by our lifelong friend, Cynthia Boyd, provided parenting information & resources that Charise would utilize indefinitely. After working a few different jobs, & holding down an enjoyed career at Target, Charise became pregnant w Alexzander. Dedicated to her babies, Charise nurtured Alexzander through his recovery with his asthma, & bilateral clubbed feet as an infant. Able to empathize & truly understand, as having asthma herself but also "being the only one who could comfort Alexzander when he was screaming because being in all of that pain". Charise is that hands on mom at the doctor, asking every question before leaving, which helped her at provide the best care possible at home. August of 2004, Brenda Yvonne Benning, her cherished mother graduated to Heaven when Charise was the tender age of 24. This came as an earth-shaking blow, & what added to the pain of missing her mother, was the lack of pictures our family had. To move through the pain, Charise began down her path of photography. It started off as taking pictures during family events, school activities, or day to day excursions. Charise wanted to ensure she documented memories. In November of 2005, Charise & family welcomed Brendan, who is named after his Nana. Shortly after enjoying Brendan's terrific twos, our family picked up & moved to San Jacinto, CA. Charise was an excited homeowner who took pride in making time to explore the town w her kids. Loving the fact that her family was in a new place, Charise made sure to continue old & create new family traditions in her beautiful new home as well as hitting the road with her kiddos in that big ol' Sequoia. Once settled in, Charise quickly decided to open her home, just as much as she does her heart. After countless classes, certifications, inspections, contracts, etc. Charise opened her very own large license in-home childcare. Working w local families & alongside the state of California, Charise provided unconditional love, education, unlimited & excessive food + goodies, once in a lifetime field trips, surprise birthday & holidays parties, & the list goes on. Truly grasping how important it is to have your favorite memories available to look back on, Charise turned photography into gift giving. By capturing the most delicate & intimate moments while the daycare kids lived their best lives, parents were blessed w beautiful photos as regular updates, but also sentimental, tangible gifts like pillows, blankets, purses, wallets, posters etc. covered w the smiles of their children. Charise wanted to make sure parents didn't miss out on a thing when caring 4LittleLovedOnes. Realizing how much of a joy it was to capture unforgettable experiences, Charise began taking photography courses, purchasing expensive equipment & editing software to further her education & expand in this area of her expression of love. Shooting daily family events, quinceaneras/birthdays, memorial services, music videos, modeling, concerts, weddings, baby showers, newborn shoots etc. Charise made sure to dive in when booking events & became a well-rounded photographer. Family is so important to Charise. Family time warms her heart, & she went the xtra mile putting in the effort to get the family together as well as keeping the family connected. Charise enjoyed hosting family events, (inviting her daycare & trusted photography clients) & welcoming her loved ones into her home. Charise commonly hosted surprise "milestone" birthday parties for her loved ones, encouraging family from out of state to fly in for the celebrations. Fight parties & Super Bowl parties are a big thing for Charise. You can count her for Sunday & Monday night football, as Charise is a faithful Raiders fan. Beginning very early on, Charise set the tradition of maximizing on bank holidays. Loving the fact that she lived in Sunny California, Charise got her family, tents, blankets, balls, bikes, sunscreen, & contents of the fridge, freezer, & pantry out as much as possible. Charise set out to intentionally enjoy life, including Memorial Day. 4th of July. Easter Sunday. Veteran's Day. Thanksgiving. Definitely went to Coronado Beach yearly on Christmas just to brag to our East coast family because it's sunny. Charise is an outdoorsy kind of gal (as long as you have some insect repellant for her). Aside from soaking herself in the presence of those she loves, Charise's hobbies include cooking, walking, biking, swimming, sightseeing, school, shopping (for others), house hunting/model home viewing, photography, Amazon prime, household appliance shopping, watching Days of Our Lives, sporting events, exploring new restaurants. Being a germaphobe, Charise couldn't wait for the opportunity to blast her favorite music while she danced around the house cleaning. If you’ve ever had the privilege of sharing space w Charise, then you know she is extremely big on germs. Talk about a germaphobe! COVID didn’t make things any better, although Charise did her best to still get out & enjoy life Post-Pandemic. Over the years, Charise made sure to educate herself & those around her about the importance of Mental Health Awareness, Self-Love, & Social Injustice spread along multiple areas. Charise spent countless hours & decades advocating for mental health social services, as well as the criminal justice system. Charise found herself the only advocate for her favorite youngest son, Brendan, when bringing awareness to the cracks within social services, educational school system services, & what we know as child protective services (CPS). Working alongside God's hands & feet on earth, Charise conquered battles left & right when it came to challenges regarding her 3 children up until her final day on earth. Charise took great pleasure in attending conferences for business, as she is the most well-rounded businesswoman we know. Fellowship & Worship carried Charise throughout many, many seasons of her life. Charise was an active member of MULTIPLE congregations in her lifetime, following the pull of God to spread & absorb love wherever she went. Charise enjoyed non-denominational churches like the San Diego Center for Spiritual Living (SDCSL), Eastlake Church, Torrey Pines Church, & others as well as participating in a supportive spiritual women’s life group which led to an annual trip of Worship & Reflection called the “HERE I AM-Women’s Advance” in October of 2019. Charise made sure to not only document memories, but also made sure everyone was included. Charise made sure to facilitate get togethers, simple BBQs & pool days, as well as out of state trips. With the desire to surround herself with the love she had overflowing from her own heart, Charise actively planned & executed extensive vacations to visit family down & ensure her children participated in traditional Bone Family Reunions down south, as well as providing the necessary resources to appropriately expose them to information surrounding Black History. Charise frequented African American History Museums, toured all throughout Alabama with her children, exploring the seen & unseen parts, which included traveling to the Bone Cemetery & learning alongside her children, that our family has documented history of slaves & slave ownership at our family’s plantation home/property. Being able to learn about herself truly fascinated Charise & encouraged her to continue branching out in support of local black businesses &participating in events/conferences promoting health & wealth spiritually, mentally, & physically, within the black community. Charise is a “fashionista for the fashion gawds honey”, meaning. Your girl. Didn’t come to play. Always dressed her best regardless of the occasion & smelled the finest. Charise brought her style & sass everywhere she went, dominating every space she walked into. Charise has the most beautiful smile & sweetest soul you’ll ever encounter. Her heart is as pure as her teeth are white. We are so blessed to have been graced w such a beautiful, & infectious personality. In January of 2020, Charise acted upon the promise she made to herself to get back in school! So excited & determined, Charise enrolled full time at Palomar College to pursue 2 degrees simultaneously before transferring to UC San Marcos. Unfortunately, graduation would’ve been December of 2021. Charise took school seriously, & through any bumps life threw at her, she never quit. & never missed a group assignment. While in school, Charise also spent the last 5-6 years battling the injustices of social services to protect & provide necessary services for herself & her own children, but also for those around her. Charise participated in multiple parenting groups & classes, & ended up mentoring to fellow classmates lifelong. Charise’s legacy is carried on by her beloved daddy, Noble Benning Jr., 3 cherished children, Alexis Yvonne, Alexzander Adelaja, & Brendan Walton, adored brother Marcus D. Benning & beloved niece Kardyn. Charise is survived by her beloved grandmother, Virginia Bone, as well as an abundant amount of uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews, cousins, teachers, professional figures, friends, & more.

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