LENORE HABBESHAW BENJAMIN SCHICKEL,
affectionately called “Nore” by her family, lived for 87 years in good health. She left this life unexpectedly on Monday, February 26, 2024. A Mass and a Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church and The Country Club of Little Rock, respectively.
Lenore was a dedicated wife and mother, whose life brought her many blessings: five daughters, twelve grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.
Lenore was dearly loved and treasured by her family: her husband, Louis Schickel; her daughters and their spouses/partners, Susan Schickel (Craig Wilson), Kim Gillum (John Gillum), Nina Schickel (Gabriel Solis), Aya Schickel (Mark Prather), Leslie Schickel (Jared Marchildon); her grandchildren, Max and Nick Wilson, Katie, Lizzie, and Emi Gillum, Matt (Tiana Langdon) and Molly Robertson, Ruby, Lila, and Scarlett Prather, Azulene and Violet Marchildon; and her great-grandchildren, Liliana and Uma Robertson. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gertrelda Hood Benjamin and Carlton Egbert Benjamin; and her sisters, Barbara Benjamin Clapp (Dick Clapp) and Suzanne Benjamin Murrett (Thomas Murrett).
Born in the City of New York (Brooklyn), on December 28, 1936, Lenore spent her childhood on Long Island, before moving to a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, where she was educated in a one-room schoolhouse. Her family then moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where she attended Ithaca High School and Cornell University. After her education, Lenore set sail on a solo adventure by ship to live with her sister in France. Her first job was working as a telephone switchboard operator. On September 19, 1959, Lenore married Louis Edmond Schickel in the Anabel Taylor Chapel at Cornell University.
In the early years of Lenore and Lou’s marriage, work took them to Horseheads, N.Y., Manhattan, and other U.S. cities. They then moved to Cascais, Portugal, further igniting Lenore’s love for other cultures and languages. In the autumn of 1966, they relocated to Little Rock, where they nurtured their family and careers for the past 58 years.
Lenore worked as the Arkansas State Coordinator for the American Intercultural Student Exchange, welcoming people from around the world into her heart and home. She hosted and placed many students, who came to spend a year in Arkansas, including Gunilla Hede, whom she referred to as her sixth daughter during their lifelong friendship.
Lenore was also a member of her beloved book club for over 50 years. She was an avid reader, who lived with a perpetual stack of novels and language study books on her bedside table.
Reciting poetry and songs to her children, Lenore shared her love of literature, the arts, and travel with three generations of her family. She expressed her own creativity through a secret skill of drawing and painting. Her fun, light-hearted nature was felt by her family in the celebration of birthdays and holidays.
Lenore loved unconditionally, with a generous heart and a free-spirited mind. Through all the phases of her life, she moved with kindness and beauty. She had a flare for simple elegance and a warm smile that grew into a sweet stream of laughter and levity as she aged.
Lenore leaves a lasting legacy of acceptance, tradition, kindness and laughter that will be cherished for generations. At the end of her life, she left a favorite motto written on a slip of paper on her refrigerator: “Life is better when you’re laughing.”
In lieu of flowers, please donate to help mothers and children in need at: ourhouseshelter.org. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com.