Ben's Memorial, 8/26/2000


Benjamin Theodore Davis was born on February 2, 1967 in 
Arcadia, California.  He was welcomed to the world by his
parents, Nancy and David and his older sister Patricia.  Two
years later we were all joined by his younger sister Sarah.


He attended his first Friend's Meeting when 
he was 2 months old at First Friends Church in Pasadena, California.
When Ben was 5 years old the family moved from Pasadena to
Villa Park, Illinois where Ben went to school through his freshman
year of high school, where he formed countless friendships that lasted
his whole life, and where he lived  almost his whole life. He attended
DuPage Community School and DAVEA for his high school years.
He attended Downers Grove Friends Meeting throughout his childhood,
was a member and considered himself a Quaker.  He never
did register for the Draft, preferring not to co-operate with the military
in any way.

Ben was smart and capable, strong and stubborn. He preferred to
do things where he could excel on his own rather than playing on a
team.  He liked skating.   He loved golf and skiing, taking every
opportunity to do either, often going out of town.  In grade school,
he sometimes resisted doing his homework.  One year he and his
mother made a deal:  Do your spelling work, do it well and as soon
as school is out, bring your spelling book home.  They took it
to the backyard and he used a whole book of matches to burn it
and roast marshmallows in the flames.  Last April, he visited his
mother in the hospital and cheered up her evening by doing the
Sunday Crossword puzzle with her.


He loved to work, had jobs from early teens on and had a lot of
pride in the quality of his work.  As an adult, he worked mostly installing
flooring, carpet, vinyl and tile. He belonged to the Union and was in
great demand for side jobs.


Ben was brave and adventurous, curious and reckless.  He liked
motorcycles.  He even jumped out of a plane once.  From a young
toddler wondering what would happen if he put napkins in the toaster,
to a grown man hoping that a blow torch would warm his engine fast
enough to get him to work on time, Ben would try anything if he thought
it might work..  He was the one who took care of the scary things:
he would volunteer to be the driver in the blizzard, he'd go to the
basement to deal with the monsters and bugs lurking there.

Ben was  kind and generous.  He was very concerned about 
the welfare of animals, contributing to no-kill animal shelters and making
a home for several cats over the years.  

His second wife, Sue, brought him his two step-daughters, Amanda and
Sara and many of the joys of parent hood.  It was delightful to see him 
involved in their education and homelife during the 3 years they were together.

Ben doted on his newphews Fred, Nikolas and Eli and his niece Mimi. He was
a good uncle. He was waiting outside the delivery room when his oldest
nephew Fred was born and was alwyas willing to wrestle and play with the
kids.  He took great pleasure in letting them do things with him that he
knew Patty or Sarah would frown upon. Their motherly scowls always made
him smile.

Ben was always helping his family. No matter how big or small the need, he
was always willing to put aside what he was doing to help out. Many times
he was there to help without even being asked.  Whether it was taking care
of his parent's house when they were away or helping one of his sisters
move, his actions were always selfless and he never asked for anything
in return. "Don't worry about it" he would always say.


 He also  enjoyed helping his friends.
One time he came home from work, got a call from a friend in Carbondale
who was stranded there with his boat.  Ben took his pickup and left 
immediately.  When we woke up in the morning, the boat was in our
driveway.  In his circle of friends, this generosity of time and work was
very common.  He usually knew  someone who could help us out when
we needed work done around the house and yard.  We often got the
impression that they "owed Ben a favor".



This was written by Ben's parents and sisters.  We are all  aware
that  no one's life can be represented by a few short anecdotes.  The most
we can hope for is that these brief glimpses will show that  vast ocean of love that
we felt for him, and the deep sense of loss now that he is gone.

We also hope that those here today, and those not here today, will share 
their best  memories of Ben with us and with each other.