Ben V. Boynton, Sr.

Ben Valer Boynton, Sr. died peacefully at Kendal at Ithaca on January 5, 2014 pre-deceased by his wife, Margaret Cox Boynton. He is survived by his four children Victoria Boynton (Jon Bradley), Rebecca Norton (Jeff), Ben Boynton Jr (Sarah Michelle), Elizabeth Thomas (Robert) and a bevy of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Born in Cleveland, Ohio June 6, 1923 to Winifred Valer and Napoleon Hiram Boynton, Ben spent his childhood in Cleveland and attended Oberlin College before joining the US Navy as a medic. In 1948, Ben married Kit Gregory (Lambert) and returned to Cleveland to work for General Electric in advertising and sales until 1952 when they moved to Ithaca, NY. Ben became a builder of Techbuilt Homes that were considered energy efficient for their day. He went on to become the Assessor and the Supervisor of the Town of Ithaca before opening Boynton Real Estate and later becoming a financial advisor.



Ben was a complicated man: an environmentalist, a political conservative, a member of both the Unitarian and the Catholic churches, a poet, and a businessman. He appreciated the arts and loved the beauty of the natural world. He was especially fond of his summer-long canoe trips at Keewayden Camp as a boy as well as exploring the many beautiful byways in Tompkins County and New York State.



A hard-working man, Ben built two of his own houses, where he split his own wood and tended numerous gardens. He appreciated simplicity--retreats to Mount Saviour Monastery were common. Spare in his needs, he reminded others of the beauty of simplicity and the waste and uselessness of excess. He never bought a new item until the old was past its useful life.



And finally, he was an expressive man, never one to hide his true opinions. He was interested in capturing the intricacies of life in writing and in passing along his faith and wisdom.



A service will be held at St. Catherine of Siena church at 2:00 on Saturday, January 10 followed by a reception at 4:00 at the Kendal at Ithaca auditorium.