Funeral services for Benjamin James Ridley III were held last week at Lane Tabernacle A.M.E. Church
Known as “Benjy” when he has a little boy, he loved sweets and his Aunt Almeta Brantley known as ‘Meetmer.’ He used to say “Meetmer squeeze me,” and she would pick him up and hug and kiss him and he would fall out laughing.
He was a lover of the arts. He wrote poetry, acted and learned to dance quite well. Ben, as we later called him, always worked to please others even at his own risk and expense. He loved life!
He received his associate arts degree in English from St. Louis Community College at Forest Park under extreme personal circumstances. Early in his career, he worked as a teacher at the Learning Tree Nursery School where he was called ‘Baba Ben.’ Later he worked as a substitute schoolteacher in the University City, Mo., and Indianapolis school districts. In 1996, Ben received certification as a paralegal from Michigan Paralegal Institute in Detroit.
He followed his spirituality through various religious associations in St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Las Vegas. His move to Las Vegas in recent years was to pursue his dreams, only to come to a tragic end, but he found true happiness in his new hometown and exceptional friends.
Benjamin leaves family and friends and he will be deeply missed. He leaves to cherish his memory his beloved mother, Vera, his devoted sister, Diane, and younger brother, Craig, his Chicago family of sisters, Katie and Cynthia, and brother Sydney, nieces and nephews, cousin and a living aunt, neighbors and friends.
