Denise Bienfang
Denise Repetto Bienfang of Lincoln died June 19, 2024 after a brief illness.
Born in Somerville, Mass., the daughter of Doris (Britton) and Robert Anthony Repetto, Denise was a graduate of the Beaver Country Day School and Wellesley College (1963), where she was an enthusiastic member of the Tupelos a capella group and later served as vice president of the alumni committee until her death. In 1965, Denise earned a master’s degree in social work from Simmons College and practiced in the Boston community and, briefly, at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., while her husband Don served as a physician in the uniformed service.
When they returned to Massachusetts, Denise continued her social work at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, and in 1981 earned a real estate license, embarking on a 30-year career as a realtor in Lincoln and the surrounding communities becoming well known for her love of the town, her keen eye for staging, and her no-nonsense approach to real estate transactions. Over the decades, her work led to a deep connection to the town and its people, and she developed and nurtured long-lasting friendships among the residents.
Denise was preceded in death earlier this year by her husband, Dr. Don C. Bienfang, whom she occasionally liked to remind had been a “backup date.” They married in 1964 and moved to Lincoln in 1974 armed with the Whole Earth Catalog and plans that included a windmill, beehives, and a large garden. They remained in Lincoln for the rest of their lives, raising two sons there and becoming fixtures in the community.
While Don raised chickens, gardened, and took up other practical enterprises, Denise engaged with the people and the town’s activities. She was a caring mom who made a point to get to know her children’s friends, some of whom became lifelong friends and essentially family members. She joined the First Parish Church and the Lincoln Garden Club, and she loved volunteering with others in helping to cook at the Stone Church’s kitchen for town events, delighting in her time with old and new friends.
Denise was known as loyal and honest, and was always up for tea, or a chat, or a trash-pickup walk. She laughed a lot, especially on the phone. A dedicated gardener, she maintained a regular garden club tour stop in Lincoln, and she never lost her love of music, becoming a proud member of the Sharing a New Song chorus, with whom she traveled to Russia, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Cuba.
Denise was a longstanding and active member of the Women’s Travel Club of Boston, serving as the scholarship chair. Every year she reviewed numerous grant proposals and supported the awarding of scholarship funds to women on the basis of the compelling nature of their projects in the arts and sciences.
Late in life, Denise discovered a love of playing tennis (with a blazing forehand) and watching football, both of which she enjoyed with Don and their friends. In 2012, Denise turned an old house in Dennis, Mass., into a beloved gathering place for her friends and family, and she spent many summer hours there on the porch talking and laughing with her grandchildren.
Denise leaves behind two brothers, Paul and Robert Repetto, both of Boulder, Colo., and two sons, Matthew Bienfang and his wife Elizabeth of Hingham, Mass., and Joshua Bienfang of Bethesda, Md., along with six grandchildren, Micah, Britton, Abigail, Caroline, Lily, and Sam. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service at 2:00 PM on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the First Parish Church (4 Bedford Road, Lincoln).