Ben Colvin

BEN COLVIN died peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours of October 4, 2008, in Duluth, GA. He had suffered a stroke in June, 2007, and struggled with its debilitating effects over the next year. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Smith Colvin, in 2001, and is survived by daughter, Elaine Balden, and husband, Jim, of Altadena, CA; son, Ben Colvin, Jr., and wife, Sam, of Buford, GA; granddaughters, Savannah Louie and husband, Brent, Catalina Colvin, Alana Balden, and Skyla Balden; and a very large number of loved and loving relatives and friends from several generations. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, December 6, 2008, at Lucas Funeral Home, 700 W. Wall St., Grapevine, TX, with visitation at 5:00 PM followed by a memorial service at 5:30 PM. The family invites guests to share any thoughts, poems, or fond memories of Ben at the service and/or to share tributes at www.familyowned.net under "Obituaries/Light a Candle". In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Heart Association ( www.AmericanHeart.org, 800-242-8721), the Gober Cemetery Association, 5920 FM 68, Wolfe City, TX 75496, or the charity of your choice. He was loved and cherished by those who knew him as Dad, Granddaddy, Uncle Ben, Benro, and Big Ben. He was a truly good man who lived his life in such manner as always to reflect the Golden Rule, "doing unto others as he would have them do unto him". He was a consummate professional, a World War II veteran who served in the Merchant Marines, an immaculate dresser, a man of impeccable character, a strikingly handsome man, a fierce competitor in any contest, sports or otherwise, a "little boy" in fun matters. With the gift of a wonderful laugh, he laughed often and heartily, and when he laughed, he laughed with such enthusiasm that everyone else in even nearly close proximity laughed too. He was a first-rate and highly competitive athlete, skilled in baseball, softball, football, basketball, golf and boxing. Although he was offered college athletic scholarships, he chose to forego them, marking time before volunteering for the military in view of the imminence of the upcoming World War II at the time he graduated high school. During this waiting period, he began his professional career as an employee of Oil Well Supply Company in Dallas. In 1944, on leave from the military, he married Dorothy Lee Smith, his high school sweetheart, at the Oak Cliff Methodist Church in Dallas. At the end of World War II, he began a career in men's clothing sales, one which lasted until his retirement. His first sales job was in men's furnishings at A. Harris and Company, a large department store in Dallas, which later became Sanger Harris. His sales success quickly resulted in his becoming the Buyer for the Men's Furnishings Department, a position he held for years. During these years, he and Dorothy became the proud parents of Dorothy Elaine Colvin and, later, Ben Colvin, Jr. He and the family then moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he became the Men's Furnishings Buyer for another major department store. A few years later, he and the family moved back to Dallas, where he became the Men's Furnishings Buyer at E. M. Kahn Company in Dallas. It was during this period that the family joined and attended regularly the Brooklyn Avenue Methodist Church. Later, he elected to travel for many years, representing multiple lines of men's furnishings. On his retirement, he began to devote much greater attention and time to one of his primary athletic endeavors, golf, thereby becoming and remaining, until his health began to fail, a very low-handicap golfer. Throughout his life, thanks to his outgoing and warm personality, he made many, many friends at many, many places wherever he encountered people, for example, sometimes as a professional; sometimes at church; sometimes at dance recitals, piano recitals, cub scout meetings, and so on, as the doting dad to Elaine and Ben, Jr.; and, during many of his retirement years, at the Sunset Golf Course in Grand Prairie. After the death of his wife, Dorothy, in 2001, he left Dallas to live alternately with Elaine and Ben, Jr. in Altadena, CA and Buford, GA, respectively, until his death. He was loved, admired and respected by a multitude of relatives and friends, each of whom will miss him dearly and will treasure his memories in a futile attempt to compensate the unfillable void he leaves.