In Memory of Ben - author of Train Wreck Central

How much we miss you!

Ben was only 30 years old when he was killed in a rerailing accident on December 28, 2000 in Alma, MI while working for Hulcher Services, Inc.

plaque made by Cathy is here, please visit her son Kenny

The photo on the banner is on Ben's headstone

more photos here

This page was last updated with sadness on: December 2, 2007

Safely Home

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;

Oh, so happy and so bright!

There is perfect joy and beauty

In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,

Every restless tossing passed;

I am now at peace forever,

Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly

Trod the valley of the shade?

Oh! but Jesus' love illuminated

Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me

In that way so hard to tread;

And with Jesus' arm to lean on,

Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,

For I love you dearly still:

Try to look beyond earth's shadows,

Pray to trust our Father's Will.

There is work still waiting for you,

So you must not idly stand;

Do it now, while life remaineth-

You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,

He will gently call you Home;

Oh, the rapture of that meeting,

Oh, the joy to see you come!

Copyright by

Priests of the Sacred Heart

more poetry here

________________

Please don't forget to sign one of the guest books

What's new - nothing

Tag board was deleted because I finally realized it was the source of the occasional pop-ups that was so frustrating me. I found only because I added one to a new quilt and there it was! The archives of the board are here

Ben's 33rd birthday from Lori

a gift from Papaw Joe

Angel Stitches: Mending a Grieving Heart for the Rest of your Life

you can send other greeting cards from here view a card

Please visit Ben's other pages:

photos & gifts, gifts 1, gifts 2

And not new at all

Letters written by Ben's sister Tiff his older brother, Smitty a poem written by Smitty's mother, Lynda (but wasn't received in time for the service) and a tale shared by his dad

Listen to Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) from Green Day's Nimrod album was played at Ben's funeral

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Lyrics

Another turning point

A fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist

Directs you where to go

So make the best of this test

And don't ask why

It's not a question

But a lesson I learned in time

It's something unpredictable

But in the end it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs

And still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth

It was worth all the while

Ben's first gun, a BB gun bought by Dad at 4, his first big kill was a large moth, he thought was a bird....

We were never called by the schools for discipline problems, not even during his puberty years! Ben always had excellent citizenship....

Ben collected garfield (many have disappeared), coins, stamps among other things.....

Besides FFA, Ben was in the boyscouts and 4-H for 9 year, He played base-ball, football, wrestled and ran cross country.....

At 16, Ben had a successful landscaping business which he received a FFA award and scholarship.....

Saved enough in one summer to purchase his own car, 64 1/2 mustang and insurance......

Other mothers would tell me how impressed they were that Ben would run to Tiff if she fell and pick her up, no one else's brothers would dare do that at school......

Ben attended the Farmington United Methodist Church most of his life, was baptized there and and also did the landscaping. Alot of the time he was the only male teen attending.....

He went to Escalon schools: Farmington Elementary, Collegeville Elementary, El Portal Middle School and on to Escalon High. ....

Attended UTI in Phoenix, doubled up on classes, attending up to 12 hours each day, held a parttime job at night with RPS and still graduated on the dean's list......

The microwave here in my kitchen was a gift from Ben on my 40th birthday. He was always very generous......

At 7, Ben got his first motorcycle, like the gun from his father without my approval, a Honda 50....

Ben and I were very close, we gardened, went to antique shows and garden shows together among other things. He taught me how to service the lawn equipment. I sometimes went with him on his landscape jobs after I got off work....

Ben called me just weeks before he died and said, "I may make you a grandma yet, mom." My first born and only son, there will be no grandchildren from Ben.....

His cousin would say "Ben's not a mama's boy, he's a MAMA'S----BOY! All male but he had much love and respect for his mom and women in general....

He always loved toys and had many hobbies - rockets, remote control cars & trucks, models, & besides his love for gardening.....

Start | Stop

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start for a little about Ben, things that just popped in my mind one night when the shock started to wear off

When Ben died, his sister Tiff, lit a candle for him and kept it burning continually untill I insisted she not, for obvious safety reasons. Now she lites it on the monthly anniversary of his death, along with the one at his gravesite as mentioned on the memorial page. She also hasn't turned her porch light off since, as she promised him in a letter she left with him at burial. My nephew's girlfriend lit one daily to ease his sadness over Ben's death. To me, light is naturally comforting because it represents our Lord. For this reason I started an In Memory of....Forum for all to leave a memory of their loved one and have a candle lit.

I will never forget you (Isaiah 49)

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ETERNAL POLARITY

Here today and tomorrow gone

Can't change the past,

what's done is done.

And we are left with

Emotions and Memories

Of Joy, Pain, Victories and Catastrophies.

All that we can do is continue on

Taking the good with the bad

And the agony with the fun. Lifelong polarity...

Callousness vs charity.

Life not fair?

Any lessons to share?

Strength and longevity

May breed love and generativity.

And, as the soul passes through Heaven's light,

Peace and tranquility oppose

The relentless disorder and confusion

Of the lifelong fight.

Sam L. Lawrence lll

January 9, 2002

left in Ben's guest book

Sam is Ben's cousin

___________

guest book | next | Garfield

Because this page was getting full and loaded slowly, Kaye's poem on a plaque made by Lori, a beautiful graphic made by Cathy, and a memorial plaque made by Terri are moved to a new page for Ben

second Christmas without Ben by Lori

Ben's quilt by Lori

The Mention of His Name

"The mention of my child's name

May bring tears to my eyes,

But it never fails to bring

Music to my ears.

If you are really my friend,

Let me hear the beautiful music of his name.

It soothes my broken heart

And sings to my soul."

Author Unknown

He Only Took My Hand

Last night while I was trying to sleep,

My son's voice I did hear,

I opened my eyes and looked around,

But he did not appear.

He said, "Mom, you've got to listen,

You've got to understand,

God didn't take me from you, mom,

He only took my hand.

When I called out in pain that day,

The moment that I died,

He reached down and took my hand,

And pulled me to His side.

He pulled me up and saved me

From the misery and pain.

My body was hurt so badly,

I could never be the same.

My search is really over now,

I've found happiness within,

All the answers to my empty dreams

And all that might have been.

I love you all and miss you so,

And I'll always be nearby.

My body's gone forever,

But my spirit will never die.

And so, you must all go on now,

And live, and understand...

God did not take me from you,

He only took my hand."

Author Unknown

but I'll find out

__________

AN ANGEL'S PRAYER

Ben please watch over me

Every season of the year

And keep me safe

Each day and night

And to those I hold dear

Ben remind me too

To take some time

For all GOD'S precious things

Flowers, snowflakes and little birds

Such happiness they bring

REST IN PEACE BEN

LOVE

Sue-Anne

left in the guest book

you can visit SueAnne and Lee at

Portfolio Drawings by Lee Aguilera

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Train Wreck Photos

The RAOK Group Proud Member

Dear Kathleen,

It is our pleasure to present to you the Rose of Remembrance Award. Each month five moms are chosen to receive this award. This award is given to recognize your hard work, love and devotion to your child, which shows in the website you have created to honor your child....

Your website will be featured in the November/December issue of the My Parents Are Survivors newsletter, along with the other recipients of this award. Please place this award on your site and link it to My Parents Are Survivors........

Thank you Sonya, Carolyn, Kaye, everyone!

the graphic below is made by Terri at Terri's Treasures as requested by Papaw Joe, Mr. William's grandpa

Mother's Day gift from Papaw Joe