Benjamin Doniach

1957 - 2018

Benjamin Doniach
March 22, 1957-July 10, 2018
Santa Cruz
Benjamin Doniach, 61, died July 10, 2018 from injuries suffered in a collision with a car while riding his bike. Ben was an avid cyclist and had a daily route that took him from his midtown home down to Pleasure Point and back across the harbor. Services will be held at a future date, as Ben's wife Tutti is still recovering from a lengthy illness. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to fund college expenses for Ben's younger daughters who plan on transferring to UCSC: www.gofundme.com/hannah-and-zoe-doniach-college-fund. If you would like to be notified of the date of Ben's Celebration of Life, please email the couple's eldest daughter Rori: aurorarose82@gmail.com.
Ben was born in Liverpool, England, and grew up in north London, surrounded by loving grandparents and great-grandparents. During the turbulent 60's Ben attended many anti-war demonstrations. In 1969, his family moved to the Bay Area after his father was granted a professorship at Stanford University. While Ben was popular in his London schools, the move to America was difficult. He tried, with some success, to lose his English accent, and "fit in." He attended mostly alternative schools, where he met his best friend Mike Veglia when he was 14. The two began riding in Western Wheelers, and Ben's interest in cycling led him to a job at Palo Alto Bicycles when he was 17. He then went on to work for Simpson & Page as a painter, and at Peninsula School as a maintenance man.
Ben attended a number of junior colleges, including Cabrillo College. While living in Santa Cruz he perfected his sailing skills, initially learned sailing on Lake Lagunita on the Stanford campus. For a short while Ben was a co-owner of a Moore 24 with his friend Mike before transferring to San Jose State University, where his main focus was his position on the fencing team, led by Michael D'Asaro. Ben could never figure out what he wanted to major in but loved this unique competitive sport. It was around this time, in 1984, that Ben met his future wife, Tutti Hacking.
Ben left school to work as a fine woodworker for a company in Palo Alto. Ben was a craftsman and perfectionist. He soon followed Tutti to Santa Cruz, where she was attending UCSC. Ben got a job at Alsberg Brothers Boatworks building Express 34s and 37s. Ben's boss, Terry, would take Ben and other workers on weekly races to Monterey on "Nemo," the company boat. Ben had free use of Nemo and he and Tutti often took advantage of the opportunity to sail.
Ben then went to work for Bill Lee Yachts building Santa Cruz 70s in the Soquel hills. It was at this time that Ben worked on Chardonnay II, building the transom. On its maiden voyage, Bill took all the staff and their families on an evening sail, letting the kids steer the boat. While working for Bill, Ben had primary care of the couple's daughter, Rori, as Tutti was commuting to law school in San Francisco. Ben would gently wake Rori, make her a little bed next to the hall furnace, whip up crepes for breakfast, pack Rori a bagel lunch and drive her to Bayview School, then turn around and drive to work at Bill's. After work, Ben would pick up Rori at daycare, bring her home, cook dinner and do all the dishes.
When the boat industry dried up, Ben trained as a machinist and worked for many years in Santa Clara as a CNC lathe operator for Compatible Manufacturing, a precision proto-type machine shop. It was during this time that the couple's younger daughters, Hannah and Zoë, were born. When Ben was laid off from Compatible he got a job at UCSC as a Senior Building Maintenance worker for Crown College. Ben loved his interactions with the students at Crown, particularly leading the summer student paint crew. On three occasions, he was selected by the students of Crown to hand out diplomas at graduation, a high honor. When Ben had to have brain surgery to remove a benign tumor, the staff at the University donated three months of vacation leave. During his convalescence, the students at Crown made a colorful mobile of a thousand origami paper cranes, which still hang in Ben's room today. Ben was noted for his extensive and varied music tastes while at Crown, and many people would tune into his playlists. Ben liked to say he "played a mean turn-table."
After going on disability in 2007 due to memory impairment, Ben and his family had an eight-year adventure living on a 183-acre historic ranch in the hamlet of Klamath River, CA. It was here that Ben could devote his many talents to the needs of his family and friends. Ben had a nice wood shop, where he made numerous items for Tutti's cheese-making hobby from wood harvested off the property. When Hannah and Zoë got interested in costume making, Ben helped make wooden samurai swords, complete with curved sheath, for their costumes. Ben worked diligently at his beer-making skills, starting his summer Lagers in February in the cheese cellar. Visitors to the ranch often had five different bottled beers to choose from, including the Porters and Stouts he made especially for Tutti.
Ben and his family returned to Santa Cruz in 2015 so Hannah and Zoë could attend Cabrillo College. Ben loved being back in the city and was soon a favorite of the employees at Staff of Life grocery store. Ben was an extraordinary cook, who kept all his knives super sharp. He liked to collect pennies for luck. He regularly picked bouquets of flowers for Tutti, and enjoyed singing to her – from Ella Fitzgerald's "Misty" to Frank Sinatra's "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You." He lovingly cared for her these past 14 months when Tutti was bed-bound from illness.
Above all, Ben was a friendly person, a courteous person, who loved to connect with people, especially his children and grand-daughter. He had a winning smile, a beautiful voice, and a charming personality. His greatest gift was the unconditional love he gave his family and friends. He was an engaging father, who respected his daughters' choices and was always available to give advice when asked, or help fix something broken, be it a piece of handmade pottery or a child's heart. He was instrumental in providing a solid homeschool education to Hannah and Zoë simply by being available to share his many interests and skills with them.
Ben is survived by his devoted partner of 33 years, Tutti Hacking; daughters Hannah and Zoë Doniach (Santa Cruz), Rori Launspach and grand-daughter Madison Jane Garfinkel-Launspach (San Jose); his father Sebastian Doniach, step-mother Jennifer Doniach, brother Joseph Doniach (Palo Alto); sisters Alex Doniach (San Francisco), Martha Doniach (London), Tabitha Doniach (Santa Rosa); and his step-father Richard Joseph (Tucson).


View the online memorial for Benjamin Doniach