Tarah Marina Benner

It is with deep sadness that we have to share the tragic death of our daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and cousin Tarah Benner. She was loved by us all and will be missed terribly.

Tarah Marina Benner – Born Aug 21, 1997, passed March 21, 2025, she was 27 years old.

Names and relationships of survivors:

Mom Vera Reifenstein, Dad Tim Benner, Sister Thea Van Zutphen and Michael Warren, Brother Trevor Benner and Milly Laframboise

Grandmother Doris Sebestyen and Elek Sebestyen

Uncle Mike Benner and Cousins Emma and Julie-Ann (Jubie) Benner

Auntie Heidi Frankish and Uncle Tom Frankish and Cousin Paul Frankish, Amy Groom, Lucy and Eva, Cousin Mark Frankish and Alex Fillion

Our closest friends and cousin Lisa Bunda and Edsel Littlejohn and her cousins Taylor, Jordan, Connor and Spencer

A little bit about Tarah through the things she loved!

• She was so caring and compassionate for all animals. She will be able to take care of Boomer, Chubs and Boy Kitty (BK) our beloved family dog and cats who will be with her in a peaceful place.
• She had a green thumb that led to 54 exotic indoor plants and 12 beautiful gardens at home including redoing the whole front yard with her family.
• She won three major awards in high school and middle school recognizing her strength, striving for excellence and hard work.
• She worked hard to become a Personal Support Worker and a nutritionist at the Perley Rideau Veterans health Centre.
• She was a veterinary assistant for many years.
• She loved the color black as evidenced in her clothes, shoes, jewelry and black nail polish.
• She was artistic and creative with an amazing ability to sketch and paint.
• She loved our camping trips, going skiing, roller coasters and enjoyed setting up our camping sites.

A final goodbye from your brother Trevor, sister Thea, mother Vera and dad Tim.

From Trevor The music Tarah listened to people found dark, scary and angry but she found peace in it because it calmed her mind and helped her with her deep sadness. We put a playlist of her music together for the surgical team to be inspired to understand her deep emotions through her music.

From Thea She was goofy, sarcastic and incredibly smart. She was so calming to be around and enjoyed the quiet. She was not a people person and now she is able to help so many with her gifts of life. She had a wonderful, beautiful but extremely misunderstood soul, that not many had the privilege to understand and love, but if you did, you were truly blessed.

From Mom I will honour every minute we spent in the gardens and will enjoy learning how to care for her beautiful plants and continuing our mother's day planting weekend and growing our own vegetable garden each year. I wish we had more time to go camping, skiing and on trips like our visit to Mexico where we swam in the caves and Costa Rica where we fed the Toucans and Sloths. She was truly happy in these times.

From Dad  I will miss our times together listening to music, going to concerts, riding coasters and sitting around the campfire eating smores. I will always honor and cherish your memory and look forward to learning how to take care of your plants with the family.

Cause: Tarah died of an accidental drug overdose which caused a cardiac arrest. We would like to recognize and thank the emergency team at the Montfort Hospital, Civic Hospital Neurosurgery team and ICU nurses, and finally the Ontario Trillium team who made it possible to honor Tarah's generous and important decision to be a donor. Attached is the Love For Tarah playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4XyUm3pBr1DFHjTmI2cNeB?si=N6FemhUlS5askcH2-TRzgg&pi=qVm94cj3SMCz-&pt=4d903c34657d7fa0df4c1467a39b6742) we made for the transplant team during her final act of bravery where she donated her heart, lungs, pancreas and liver to recipients in need of life saving transplants and her eyes will be supporting research. The gift of life she is giving is only possible because of the talent, abilities and dedication of the medical teams involved in her care, and we are beyond thankful. Become a donor by registering here https://beadonor.ca/. We were thrilled to hear that all four transplant surgeries were a success and are so proud that Tarah was able to save lives in her death.

Donation suggestions: In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Ottawa Humane Society https://ottawahumane.ca/donate/ or Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services https://www.rideauwood.org/donatenow/.

Services: We will hold a celebration of her life at our home in the spring to honor her memory for our friends and family to support us. Lastly, now that our difficult journey at the hospital ended on March 24 with the Ontario Trillium Transplant surgery, we are open to hugs, support and love from our friends and family as we progress to the next stage of grieving Tarah.