Benjamin R. Jarrell

Born to an Irish-American family in Packsville, West Virginia—a town poetically positioned at both a fork in Birch Holler Road and a fork in the Birch Fork River—Benjamin Ray Jarrell humbly made his way to our planet on December 1, 1945. As one of the youngest of 11 kids, Ben spent his childhood raising hell and developing a deep love for our earth—which led to his life-long passion for living organically and off the grid. After the birth of his first daughter, Helen Christine Vanwieren, with his high school sweetheart and first wife, Suzanne Mary Rohde, Ben was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. In 1970, Ben married his second wife, Linda Jarrell, with which he had two daughters, Laura Lee Jarrell and Shannon Marlene Jarrell-Ivey, and his beloved son, Jon Thomas-Henri Jarrell. Ben instilled into his kids a sense of humor, loyalty, respect, and a fierce independence. In the 80s, Ben studied air conditioning and refrigeration at Victoria College and moved his family to the San Antonio area and worked as a Maintenance Mechanic for the next 20+ years at ITW Minigrip in Seguin, TX. In the early 90s, Ben married his third wife, Sandra Jarrell, to whom he remained steadfastly devoted, until his untimely death on Thursday, June 6, 2019. Ben was an incredible cook who possessed a wicked sense of humor and a beautiful porch-swing wisdom. His greatest loves were his 10-acre farm in Stockdale, being outdoors, eating Blue Bell Ice Cream, and hauling his grand babies behind his big red tractor. Ben is survived by his three daughters, eight grandchildren—Zachary and Dylan Cobb, Jonathan Heeringa; Isaac, Calvin, and Megan Ivey; Max Vanwieren and Ashley Rios—and his four great grandchildren—Novaleigh Bliss Neilson, Atraiu Sanal Naik, Katherine Suzanne Mansker and Edie Ayumi Mansker. Ben spent his last days on earth care-taking for his wife, who endured a years-long battle with breast cancer that finally claimed her life just days after Ben passed. Ben was comforted through it all by the only dog in his life that he didn’t name “Dog”—Tater. Ben was the type of man who would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.