Ben had a loving girlfriend that stood by his side through thick and thin. They met in Rhode Island and were crazy about each other from the start.

Was very proud of becoming an electrician’s apprentice and looking forward to finishing his training as an electrician. Would create these crazy and elaborate art fixtures with lightbulbs that he would send us, and we would have no idea what it was, but he was proud anyway.

He had always loved to cook. Ben would make these weird concoctions that were either really good or really bad. He was fascinated with sweet potatoes and one of his favorite dishes to make were sweet potato fries. Even saying that nobody “appreciates the complexities of the sweet tater.”


One of Ben’s favorite things was to go hiking and exploring nature. When we all lived in Massachusetts, we would take family hikes at Mt Sugarloaf and Purgatory. He would jump from rock to rock until he got to the highest and most dangerous point giving us all heart attacks. He loved to be the daredevil and would push us to be one too.
In high school, Ben played football and liked to box with his friends after school. Sometimes he would just take his bike and go exploring. Wresting with his two younger sisters was unavoidable. Always saying he wanted to “practice” on us. He would take his mattress off his bed and put it into the living room and practice his Judo moves on us out of the book he got from the library.
Ben was extremely intelligent – he liked to read nonfiction and watch TV shows about history. We would buy him magazines from the National Geographic every now and then. He was always fascinated with the science side of things (especially chemistry) and would know the weirdest facts. On one specific occasion, explaining the reactions inside your body that happen to make a fart. He loved everything that included fire and explosions. You can imagine how angry his mother would get when she found a video of Ben and his friends lighting themselves on fire or when he set off a match bomb in the house.
Ben was silly, loving, and energetic. Making jokes with us to cheer us up when things were looking down. Ben loved visits from his family. He was excited to show us the beach and local donut shops in Rhode Island. He would call us almost every day explaining something interesting he found or how his butternut squash plants were not doing as well as his peppers.

Throughout Ben’s life he had struggled with addiction. He would have highs and lows where he had everything and then lose everything but no matter what he would get right back up and keep working. We are all so proud of his resilience throughout the years.