Benjamin C. Bainbridge

Benjamin Crawford Bainbridge, 92, died January 20, 2011, at Madison Hospital following a short illness with pneumonia.

Ben, the son of William and Rachel Patterson Bainbridge, was born August 24, 1918, in a farmhouse in the Packsaddle Mountains above Tetonia, Idaho, where his parents tried to make a living on a potato farm. Four years later, Ben and his family moved to North Powder, Oregon, where his dad got work in a sawmill. When he was 9 years old, Ben's father lost his leg in a sawmill accident. When his parents divorced, Ben went with his father to Marysville, Idaho, to live and work for his Uncle and Aunt Gifford. Ben attended Marysville Elementary, leaving school after the 8th grade to work full time when his father's health worsened. Ben often "rode the rails" to return to Oregon to see his mother and sisters, thereby dividing his growing-up years between both places.

After his father died, Ben worked in Oregon in a sawmill and in a CCC camp before joining the U.S. Army. He went to Ft. Dix for training and was there when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. As Ben was being prepared for war, he met Hilda Grob at a USO dance. She was a kindergarten teacher in New Jersey. They fell madly in love and enjoyed a three-week whirlwind courtship before he was sent overseas to fight in Africa. Ben and Hilda became engaged and their courtship continued via mail while he drove a tank, fighting the Germans across Africa and then into Italy. Near Anzio Beach, in Italy, Ben's third tank was destroyed in battle. He and his commander got out alive, but a German threw a grenade at them and his commander was killed. Ben lost his right arm and was captured by the Germans. His capture only lasted an hour before other Americans surrounded the cellar they were hiding in. Ben talked his captors into surrendering, and he was sent back to a MASH unit to take care of his injuries. After arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, to heal from his lost arm, Ben and Hilda made plans to marry.

They were married in North Bergen, New Jersey, and then went to Oregon to try to make a life for themselves. When it didn't work out in Oregon, they moved to Ashton, Idaho, where Ben worked at the Laurel Leaf Gas Station across the tracks from the train depot. They lived in the little back room there until Ben finally got a job at the Ashton Power Plant as an operator. Because there was no housing available, Ben and Hilda lived in the kitchen of the Ashton Hotel on Main Street until a stone house on Idaho Street became available. They moved in there a few days before their first child was born. While living in this tiny home, Ben and Hilda had four children before they built their house on Highland Street and had one more child.

Ben worked at the power plant for 28 years. He most enjoyed volunteering with the Idaho State Police for over 30 years. For many years, he also served as a deputy for the Fremont Co. Sheriff Dept. Once Hilda retired from teaching school in Ashton, Ben bought a motor home and together they traveled the country for about six years. Hilda died of cancer in July of 1988.

He met Klara Varga eight years later, and she has been with him ever since, blessing Ben's life.

Ben will be greatly missed by his wife, Klara; and his five children, Bill (Diane) Bainbridge of Springfield, Mo., John (Dee) Bainbridge of Payson, Ariz., Karen (Brad) DeBow of Rexburg, Idaho, Maureen (Ron) Spencer of Wilder, Idaho, and Heidi (Dennis) Jackson of Washington state; 20 grandchildren; and 56 great-grandchildren.

At Ben's request, cremation was handled under the direction of the Bidwell Funeral Home in St. Anthony. Memorial services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 22, 2011, in the Ashton LDS Church near the cemetery with Bishop Lynn Ballard officiating. The family will receive friends at the church one hour prior to the services. Interment will follow in the Ashton Pineview Cemetery where military rites will be performed by the Ashton Military burial unit. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.bidwellfuneralhome.com.

Family Tribute