Benita Honaker
(1936-2025)
Benita Honaker (Brothers), age 89, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, December 20, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.
Benita was born on December 12, 1936, in West Frankfort, Illinois. She was the daughter of Benjamin “Benny” Brothers and Helen Brothers (Clouser) of Zigler, Illinois, where she grew up and attended First Baptist Church.
Benita dedicated her life to service, faith, and family. She earned a three-year nursing diploma from Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. After working several years in Illinois, she traveled to Hawaii to pursue public health studies, earning a Master of Public Health degree.
Upon graduation, Benita commissioned in the United States Air Force, where she served honorably as a nurse for 22 years. She retired in 1992 with the rank of Colonel in the Air Force
Medical Corps.
On July 1, 1989, Benita married Richard Honaker. Together, they built a life rooted in faith and service, later serving as medical missionaries in South Africa with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. They shared 36 years and six months of marriage. Both Benita and Richard retired from the United States Air Force as Colonels and remained devoted to ministry and service throughout their lives.
Benita was blessed with six loving children: Richard (Rick) Honaker of Phoenix, Arizona; Marita and Scott Willis of Sedalia, Missouri; Marketa and Tim Southerland of Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean; Maria and Jim Allen of Valparaiso, Florida; Monica Dabbs of Niceville, Florida; and John Honaker of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was also blessed with twenty-eight grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren.
While living in Florida, Benita attended Generations United Church in Niceville, Florida.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin (Benny) Brothers and Helen Clouser Brothers.
Benita will be remembered for her unwavering faith, compassionate heart, distinguished military service, and deep love for her family.
She will be laid to rest at Red Hill Cemetery in Hammon, Oklahoma, with Full Military Honors rendered by the United States Air Force. Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 27, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Emerald Coast Funeral Home, 161 Racetrack Road NW, Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547.
– Obituary provided by Emerald Coast Funeral Home.
Oklahoma services: Bill Merritt Funeral Service in Bethany, Oklahoma, on January 3, 2026, viewing at 9:00 a.m., service at 10:00 a.m. Graveside service with Military honors at Red Hill Cemetery in Hammon, Oklahoma, at 2:00 p.m.
A Note from World Missions Ministries
On Behalf of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church World Missions Ministries family, we honor the life and legacy of missionary heroine, Rev. Benita Honaker, and extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Richard Honaker and family as they mourn her earthly departure.
As an adult, Benita joined the United States Air Force and served in Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Türkiye, and in parts of the United States. She was a flight nurse in Vietnam and Thailand, the chief nurse at a clinic in Türkiye, and eventually attained the rank of Colonel.
At age 52, Benieta married a widower, Dr. Richard Honaker, who had six grown children. Overnight, she became a mother, and later a grandmother and great-grandmother.
In 1992, Benita and her husband, Dr. Richard Honaker, applied to the IPHC Missions Board to serve as missionaries in Africa. On November 8, 1995, Benita and Richard left the USA as new missionaries bound for South Africa, arriving at Johannesburg’s Jan Smuts Airport on November 10th.
Together with her husband, Richard, Benita faithfully served as missionaries for thirty-six and a half years of their marriage.
“Benita was a remarkable lady. Stephanie and I join with her missionary family in honoring her for her selfless servitude to the Kingdom and her profound devotion to the Lord. Her imprint, alongside that of her husband, Richard, will forever be indelibly etched in the ministry tapestry of the IPHC in South Africa.” WMM Executive Director Bishop J. Talmadge Gardner shared.
On behalf of IPHC’s World Missions family,
World Missions Communications Office
