A MESSAGE FROM Ben Van Buskirk "Fly Ben Fly"
Ben was born in St Louis, Missouri. He spent the first 7 years of his life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the remaining brief 10 years in Olathe, Kansas. He was raised along with his older brother Ty, by Mark and Carrie Van Buskirk. Ben came into the world quite prematurely and spent time in NICU before coming home. The running joke into his teens was that this was the only time in his life he showed up early instead of running late. He was a tiny and beautiful boy that couldn’t get enough hugs or snuggles from family. If a family member or pet was around, Ben was attached to them. His affection and care were constant. He kept this wonderful trait his entire life. His passions in life were present almost immediately. Ben had a deep love and connection to animals, passion for sports, craving for sweets he learned to charm anyone into providing to him, a relentless adoration of music, and a witty sense of humor he loved to deploy on anyone - at any time. He lived to make others laugh and smile!
Ben’s love and connections to his friends and family were deep and often all encompassing. Yet his relationship with his brother, Ty, was elevated above all others. Although three years apart, throughout childhood, the two often appeared as twins, inseparable. Even though the younger brother, Ben often took the lead in an effort to teach and protect his older brother who was learning to navigate life as autistic. Ben was Ty’s compass, always showing him the way. He proudly and selflessly served as Ty’s constant source of encouragement, endless source of love, and reassurance. Ty's neurodivergent view of life has taught us all to be still and see life's beautiful simplicity. Ben needed his model as much as Ty needed Ben's. Ben would love to see so many people honoring him by donating to what he cared about.
Baseball, soccer, basketball, and fishing were constant passions growing up and he later grew to love bowling and golfing. His passion for fishing grew and grew throughout his life. Despite his parents’ attempts to sway him to St Louis sports teams, Ben latched onto Philadelphia teams at 2 years old and that was it. Eagles, Phillies and 76ers were in his blood and stayed there. Above all else was his love of the Eagles. This Eagles love was so strong he required a trip each year to catch a game and take in the city he felt most comfortable in. He would often say he planned to change his name to Jalen Hurts...and we were not sure he was joking. Several of Ben’s friends used the nickname “Philly” for him as it was a perfect fit, “The City of Brotherly Love”.
Early Saturday morning July 27th our son Ben and a close friend were driving home and witnessed an accident on the interstate. Ben yelled to stop the car, saying people in the car needed help. He ran to provide aid and was tragically killed after being struck in the process. He was 17 years old.
Woman recalls moments before teen was killed in Merriam crash (fox4kc.com)
While his parents wished he hadn't stopped, it just wasn't in his nature to not offer help to anyone in need. As all parents would, we are struggling to find meaning and hope in his loss. Ben's story of courage and making the ultimate sacrifice to help others has made us even more proud of him. We have been offered so much support, but we don't need anything. We feel that Ben's connection to the Eagles and Autism were so strong that this would be a fitting tribute to his memory. No donation is too small. Please click on the donate button! Thank you so much for your support.
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