My name is Kysa, and my husband’s name was Ben.
It is my absolute honor and privilege to tell you about the love of my life Benjamin and the wonderful man that he was.
It’s hard to encapsulate Ben’s personality into a few adjectives. An absolute original to be sure. He was very humble and patient, which really drew me to him. He was always looking out for the underdog and would do anything to help anyone…always with the biggest smile on his face. That’s what people tell me they remember right away about him…his big smile that lit up any room he entered. I really loved Ben’s ability to find joy in the smallest moments and things. He was content with his life, from his morning cup of coffee…driving around town…mowing the lawn. It all brought him such happiness.
Of course people tell me that his smile got a bit brighter when he met me (haha). We met in 2016 through a mutual friend who introduced us. We were married in August 2020 and not soon after were blessed with a beautiful baby boy named Henry in September 2021. If just a simple cup of coffee brought so much joy to Ben’s life…you can imagine the pride and love he had when he held his baby boy. One story that I love to tell people…Ben was always an early riser (we’re talking 4:30 every morning just because he wanted to). That came in handy with having a newborn. He would get Henry changed and ready in the morning…I would get up at 5:15 to feed him. Even though he didn’t need to have Henry up until 5:15…Ben would always pick him up at 4:45 every morning… just so they could snuggle together in the chair for half an hour. That’s just the kind of man and father that he was.
Above all he loved spending time with his family, but other hobbies and interests included reading about history (I think we owned every book ever written about Presidents Lincoln and Grant), gardening, mowing the lawn/shoveling snow, watching cooking shows/PBS, coffee, cooking, fishing, and hunting. Last summer he had a huge garden…we were drowning in summer squash. He loved to experiment with new recipes…and none were ever lacking in garlic. That man absolutely loved his garlic. He also had the most beautiful singing voice. Mostly hymns in church but he could also belt out some of his favorite classic rock songs…particularly Journey and Kansas.
Ben worked as an “”IT guy”. I always said he mostly fixed computers but I’m sure it was more technical than that. Basically he was the guy who people would call and complain to when they were having technology or internet problems. That’s where his patience came in handy. Throughout his career he worked in two different school districts as well as for the county library system. On the side he also loved to run the scoreboard for high school events like basketball and football games.
Someday I will get to tell Henry about his dad; about his smile, kind and loving heart, and the million other things that made Ben, Ben. But I will also get to tell our son about the people who his daddy was able to help. About the beauty that can be found in the shadow of tragedy. And for that I am extremely grateful.
We love and miss you Ben!
