Benjamin Sevier Blackburn

Benjamin Sevier Blackburn, Age 39.
Died October 13, 2022. Ben was a ninth generation Tennessean, born in 1983 to Shirley and Gary Blackburn. He graduated from Ensworth School, Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia), and Sewanee, the University of the South. While at Episcopal, Ben excelled in English Literature and Spanish and was captain of the varsity wrestling team. At Sewanee, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and a Wellington. He studied abroad in Segovia, Spain and Oxford, England. He completed studies at the Nashville Software School and pursued a career in computer programming and software development. A creative intellectual, Ben was a gifted writer, natural guitar player and loved a broad variety of genres of music. Ben loved the outdoors and at various times of his life pursued kayaking, mountain biking, and most recently hiking and camping. He will be remembered for his loyalty to friends, compassionate heart, and irreverent humor. He was a member of the Corinthian Lodge #8 F&AM, and a volunteer for the Nashville Humane Association.
Ben is survived by his mother, Shirley Hair Blackburn, his father and stepmother William Gary and the Honorable Melissa Blackburn, sister Catherine Blackburn Kinsey (Asheley), niece and nephew Evelyn Kinsey and Davis Kinsey, stepsister Emily Kurtz Powell (Austin), aunt Cathy Blackburn Robinson (Randall), uncle Robert Duncan Hair (Terry), cousins Brooke Bratta and Kendra Swaggerty, and numerous other cousins and extended family in Tennessee and South Carolina. Ben is additionally survived by devoted friends Michael Coleman, William Frazier, Patrick Martinez and Andrew Nelson. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Roberta and William Lester Blackburn and Thelma and Marion Screven Hair, and his stepsister Elizabeth Marie Kurtz. He leaves behind his beloved hound dog companion, Cash.
A private celebration of life will be held for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in memory of Ben Blackburn to Ensworth School (Nashville, Tennessee), Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia), or Misfit Hounds www.misfithounds.org, a no-kill adoption/rescue organization for hounds with a "rebel spirit and an appetite for destruction."