First Female Federal Judge In NJ, Former Millburn Resident, Dies At 94

MILLBURN, NJ — Former Millburn resident Serena Perretti Benson, cited in her obituary as the first woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship in New Jersey, passed away in Florida last month at the age of 94.

Born in Passaic, Benson married Richard "Dick" Benson, a World War II veteran, who passed away in 2011.

The family lived for decades on White Oak Ridge Road in the Short Hills section of Millburn, and had seven children.

Benson was active in her community, and in 2015 led a discussion at the local library on the book "My Beloved World" by Judge Sonia Sottomayor.

Born in 1928, Benson went on to receive several degrees at a time when some of the nation's most prestigious colleges were not open to women. She received an AB at Vassar College in 1948, a Juris Doctor with honors from Rutgers University in 1954, and got a postgraduate degree at the Department of Religious Studies, Seton Hall University, 1982.

Benson was a member of the federal Bar Association and Passaic County Bar Association.

See her obituary here.