Benjamin Highton

Benjamin (Ben) Highton was born on November 1, 1934, in Birkenhead, a ferry port in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. He was the son of Merchant Navy Second Officer Benjamin B. Highton and Elizabeth (Strickland) Highton. Ben peacefully passed away on January 31, 2025.

Ben's happy childhood was disrupted by World War II when his father's ship was torpedoed. Ben and his brother were separated from their mother and sent with other city children to a remote countryside during Operation Pied Piper.

Following Ben's education, he embarked on a promising career as a banker for National Westminster Bank in England and was then relocated to an overseas branch in Jamaica, Queens (not the Caribbean Island as he anticipated!).

Ever erudite and affable, Ben's genteel talents offered him a second career as a corporate account executive at Tiffany & Co., where he excelled for twenty years until his retirement in 1997. He was loved by clients and colleagues alike who were charmed by his British wit, whether deft or daft.

Ben was always sincere and lived his life simply and with a richness of spirit. He was comfortable in the opulent settings of his midtown accounts, yet more relaxed at daily Chez Georges lunches with his Tiffany buddies, where their dessert choice was often martinis!

In recent years, Ben was most at home at the Hampton Bays Senior Center lunching and chatting with friends and renting movies at the Hampton Bays Public Library. He was a lover of Broadway and the beach. His day wasn't over until the New York Times crossword puzzle had been completed.

Ben was dog's best friend. The mention of his name caused a frenzy of tail wagging and a race to find a leash; a walk with Ben was generous and joyful. He was both a bicyclist and a biped extraordinaire whether to the oceanfront, the airport, or the outer boroughs. He braved Montauk Highway pedaling his way from Hampton Bays to Bridgehampton and probably made better time than the drivers in the trade parade.

Ben was preceded in death by both parents; brother Alan Highton; and sister-in-law, Susan Highton. He is survived by his nephew Richard (Denise) Highton and their children Jess and Jamie; niece Caroline Highton and her daughter Charlotte; niece Helen Portchmouth; and a large loving New York family of friends.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Hampton Bays, New York.