It’s almost as if Ben was born to serve his community and his country. Raised in Riverdale NY, he fostered many close friendships and life long attachments to people in the immediate community and beyond. It was unusual to walk down the street with him without him running into someone he knew well enough to give a hug. He got his professional feet wet working for and being dedicated to John @ John’s Botany Bay. There he not only got to help in the flower shop with everything from the smallest menial task to creating his own arrangements, he genuinely enjoyed being part of John’s team to nurture Riverdale by delivering his beautiful work, where he could interact with people and bring them joy.
He served our country as part of the National Guard from 2007 to 2013, driven like many of his generation to make a difference after the devastation wrought by 9/11. As part of his service he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 where his formal responsibility was to provide cyber security for his command.
Never one comfortable to sit idle in his downtime, Ben learned the fundamentals of Crossfit there, an exercise program he then taught others to teach and together they coached a wider spectrum of soldiers both physically and in spirit.
His work in the military and the bonds he made there became the foundation of the birth of his beloved gym, Spuyten Duyvil Crossfit. There he was able to combine his passion for staying healthy and fit with his knack for bringing people together, encouraging not only people in his age group, but people of all ages, He was uniquely encouraging to children and seniors, (especially his own mother) to get into and stay in strong physical shape. He built a community that remains a community to this day, with many shared experiences of being known as an individual in a joyful supportive group setting.
Once Ben closed the gym, he remained close to his army network and rolled up his sleeves in a different challenging endeavor by joining forces with Tree Army, a landscaping company started by a dear friend. At the time of his untimely death, he was enrolled in school to study Physical Therapy, a perfect synthesis of his love for people and making a difference in their lives, with his passion and savvy for keeping the body strong.
He is survived by his loving family, his mother Amy, brother Lewis and sister Julie.
Visitation will be held at Riverdale-On-Hudson, 6110 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY, on Tuesday, May 20, from 4 to 7 PM. Interment will take place on Wednesday, at 1pm at Calverton National Cemetery where Military Honors will be rendered.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to: https://theheadstrongproject.org