Corinne Cyr Benedict, 58; taught foreign languages

Corinne Cyr Benedict of Milton, a French and Spanish teacher for 35 years, died in her home Thursday of pancreatic cancer. She was 58.

Born in Portland, Maine, Mrs. Benedict grew up in a French-speaking household in Westbrook, Maine. After graduating from St. Joseph's Academy in Portland in 1964, she received her bachelor of arts in foreign languages from Emmanuel College in Boston in 1968. She later earned her master's degree in education at Cambridge College.

She met her husband at a South Shore Plaza eatery shortly after the Blizzard of 1978. After dating for seven years, they were married in 1984 at the Emmanuel College Chapel, which they followed with a reception brunch at Copley Place, where they served eggs Benedict in honor of their name.

''She was my best friend," her husband David, said yesterday, ''When you get to the point that you're best friends, that's when the relationship goes beyond love."

Mrs. Benedict knew at an early age that she wanted to become a teacher. She worked as a language teacher at Central Junior High School and Hingham Middle School, where she taught Spanish and French. Later, she taught mainly French classes.

Mrs. Benedict decorated her classroom with French words and postcards, to make the students feel as though they were in France, and each of her students chose a French name.

Mrs. Benedict was known among family and friends for her knack of sending cards for every occasion.

''Every time she sent a card to someone, she would write a paragraph in it," her husband said. ''It wasn't enough to sign her name; she had to put thought into them."

After retiring in June 2003, Mrs. Benedict attended daily Mass, where she would introduce new faces to old friends.

Mrs. Benedict was a member of the National Education Association, the Plymouth County Teachers' Association, the Hingham Educators' Association, and the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association. She was a communicant of St. Agatha Church in Milton, where she belonged to the Legion of Mary.

''She was a teacher not just of children but of people. She taught people how to live a good life," said her husband.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Benedict leaves a sister, Pauline Cyr Cormier of Bellefonte, Pa.; six nieces; and six nephews.

A funeral Mass will be said tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. Agatha Church.