Benjamin Charles Patch Jr.

Benjamin Charles Patch Jr. October 18, 1931 - November 15, 2023 Benjamin Charles Patch Jr., 92, of Gering, Nebraska, passed away November 15, 2023 at Regional West Medical Center, due to injuries he sustained in a motor home driving accident. He was born October 18, 1931 in Vermont, the son of the late Benjamin and Jane Keay Patch. Ben graduated from Lancaster High in N.H. He served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950's. In 1951, he married his wife, Inez Cresawn. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1958, where he studied government. He then went on to study political science at the University of Missouri and eventually earned a master's degree in Healthcare Administration from UNH. Ben's public health career took him and his family to Maryland, Texas, and Maine. Beginning in 1982 until his retirement in 2008, he served as Executive Director at the Office of Human Development in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, which specializes in creating and maintaining opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities. For many years, he and Inez were known to host these clients at their home for Thanksgiving dinner. He would also dress as Santa for their annual holiday celebrations. For decades, Ben enjoyed traveling in his various motor homes and visiting bluegrass festivals across the country and Canada. This past year, he drove alone to Ottawa and Nova Scotia. Canada. He visited his daughter in Maine, experienced many music festivals along the way, and months later, made his way to his son's house in Missouri. The accident occurred on the final leg of his journey back To Gering, Nebraska on October 28, 2023 Ben was predeceased by Inez in 2007, after 56 years of marriage. He is survived by his daughter, Barbara (Charles) Legee of Lewiston, Maine. Also, his son Robert (Debbie) Patch of Kansas City, Missouri. He leaves behind 3 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson: Hollie (Robert) Legee-Cressman of Casco, Maine; Nicholas (Jennifer) Legee and their son, Elijah of Monmouth, Maine; and Mathew Patch of Kansas City, Missouri. Ben was laid to rest, next to his wife, Inez, in a family section of Green Grove Cemetery near Hartsville, Tennessee.