Obituary: Vera Benes, 1948-2023 

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• Courtesy
• Vera Benes

It is with great sadness and disbelief that we share the recent passing of our dear wife, mother, Nana and friend, Vera Terezie Benes, age 74, of Jericho, Vt. She passed away unexpectedly in her sleep while she and her husband, Peter, were visiting one of her best friends, Donna Safford, in Durango, Colo. She leaves Peter behind, along with her son, Joshua, her daughter-in-law, Rebecca, and her grandsons, Luke and Zachary. She was predeceased by her parents and her daughter, Christina. Anyone who knew Vera loved her bubbly personality, her genuine kindness and her true love of life. There was always a certain kind of sparkle about her.

Vera was born on December 16, 1948, to Al and Vera Soucek in the city of Pardubice in what is now known as the Czech Republic. Vera and her parents fled their country during the communist takeover in 1949. Vera was just an infant when they had to navigate the woodland, swamps and mountains to safety and freedom in Germany. They left Europe by boat to Canada and settled in Toronto. Eventually, her father, Al, who was in the hospitality field, moved his family across the border to Long Island, N.Y., and eventually to Vermont.

The first business that her family began in Vermont was the Haus & Heim Ski Lodge in Jeffersonville. It was on Route 108 on the way to Smugglers’ Notch — then known as Madonna Mountain — and was where Vera learned to ski with her dad and fell in love with the sport. She easily made friends with everyone at the resort, from the ski patrol to the lift operators. In between her days on the mountain, Vera attended and graduated from Lamoille Union High School and, later, Champlain College. Vera’s dad, Al, really wanted his daughter to meet a nice Czech man, not so easy in rural Vermont. A longtime Czech friend of his, who came to ski at Smugglers’ Ski Area and who was living in Toronto, visited the Haus & Heim and reunited with Al. This friend knew of a family who had a restaurant business in Toronto and happened to have a son named Peter, the same age as Vera! In what turned into a whirlwind, fairy tale romance, Peter and Vera soon became a couple. In 1971, they were married at Saint Mary’s church in Cambridge Village, with the reception at Smugglers’ Notch, of course. If there was ever a couple who were truly meant to be together, it was Peter and Vera.

Peter had to return to Toronto for three years to help his parents run a second restaurant they were just opening. It was there where their daughter Christina was born. In all the time they were there, they could not wait to move permanently back to Vermont. In 1976, they built a house facing Mount Mansfield on 10 acres of land. This would become their forever home. Their neighbors Cherie and Henry Sorrell became their friends for life. Vera, Peter and their family loved skiing and horseback riding with their horses, Prince Charming and Shadow Dancer.

Vera’s parents opened the Alpine Restaurant in Jericho, while Peter and Vera took over the Continental Restaurant in downtown Burlington. When Peter’s parents sold their restaurants in Toronto, the family bought a nice Victorian building on three acres of land on Shelburne Road, where they operated the Benes Inn Restaurant. The restaurant received Awards from the Gourmet Diner’s Club of America four years in a row: 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984. All was well in their lives until their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of nine. After a valiant struggle, she passed away three years later. Happier days were to return with the birth of their son, Joshua, in 1989. Vera was an incredibly supportive mother and cared for and loved her son with all her heart. As a family, they enjoyed many wonderful vacations, went on many horseback rides and enjoyed many adventures and skiing up on the mountain.

Vera’s association with Smugglers’ Notch continued for decades, working first as a ski instructor. She became known as Princess Vera, along with her ski partner, Princess Pam, and they both became very popular among the kids. Later she moved indoors and worked in the Sport Shop as the assistant manager. She enjoyed working at Smuggs and loved the people she worked with.

A memorial service will be held at Smugglers’ Notch in the Main Meeting House, the same building as Morse Mountain Grille, on Sunday, October 15, at 2 p.m., with a reception following. All who attend are encouraged to wear a little bit of sparkle in Vera's honor and to share perhaps a favorite memory of her.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.