Lillian Yvonne (Jackson) Mardenborough was born on October 7th, 1945 in Jacksonville, FL to James and Mercedes (Mitchell) Jackson. Lillian peacefully fell asleep in death on December 17th, 2023.

When Lillian was 9 years old, she and her family relocated to Buffalo, NY where she later graduated from Eastern High School. Lillian was born as the middle child of twelve siblings. She was one of the longest-surviving children along with her youngest sister Mae Helen Taylor.

Lillian always knew she wanted four children, and that’s exactly what she had. She first welcomed her first and only daughter, Jacqueline “Jackie” into the world. A year later her oldest son William “Tony”, then her middle son Michael “Mike”, followed by her youngest son Roger “Ricky”. She later married her (late) husband James “Jim” Mardenborough, who she later was baptized with on December 7th, 1991.

Lillian enjoyed school and learning. She was often found reading books which was one of her favorite pastimes. Unlike most children her age, history was her favorite subject which she continued to enjoy into her adulthood. Math was her least favorite subject, but ironically, she retired as a Bookkeeper.

Though Lillian relocated to Maryland circa 1996, she enjoyed spending her summers in New York with her youngest sister Mae Helen, her nephew Lonnie “Man” and his wife Mary. Lillian knew that her arrival in New York would mean that, in preparation for her visit, Man would make sure there was plenty of fried fish and would pick fresh produce from his farm. This earned him the nickname Farmer Brown, from Lillian, which she often referred to him as. While in New York, Lillian would also visit her nephew Jermaine Jackson who she viewed as one of her own sons, he made sure to call her daily when she returned home to Maryland.

Lillian enjoyed spending her free time cooking and teaching her grandchildren to cook many dishes, such as her famous baked macaroni and cheese. During the football season, she could always be found throwing her hands in the air, and shouting for joy whenever the Buffalo Bills scored a touchdown.

Lillian loved her family dearly and adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She took pride in the comments given by Julianna and Hayden at the meetings and always made sure to let them know just how proud she was of their spiritual progress. She enjoyed visiting her sons, grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews while in New York for the summers. She always took these opportunities to teach life lessons and talk about Jehovah to her family. She loved sharing stories about her life and experiences; some of the best stories being ones she could barely get through due to her uncontrolled and infectious laugh.

Lillian would often tell anyone willing to listen how much her life changed for the better after developing a relationship with Jehovah. She would always remind her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to “do all things for God’s glory.” Her love for Jehovah kept her going and she was sure to thank him every morning for another day of life. She served Jehovah faithfully for 32 years and kept the resurrection hope in the forefront, looking forward to welcoming all of her lost loved ones back.

She was preceded in death by her husband James “Jim” Mardenborough, oldest son William “Tony” Benton and youngest son Roger “Ricky” Benton. She is survived by her oldest and only daughter Jacqueline Turner (Wilfred) and middle son Michael Benton (Jennifer). She leaves behind her grandchildren, Brittaney Redman (Derik), Johnnika Corbett (Jared), Jazmin (Smith) Benton, Matthew Benton, Michael Benton Jr., Anthony Benton, Maddison Benton, Briana Benton-Weston, Ashley Anderson, Sheneequa Benton-Avery (Mike), DaJhon Benton, Ricky Javon Benton, Jamarion Benton, and ten great-grandchildren. Lillian was loved by many and will be missed by a host of family and friends. 

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