Hi Risto

Time catches up to all of us sadly at some point. Like you I had the great 
pleasure of visiting Ben after many invites to go by his place. I had heard 
about his beautiful and impressive receiver collection and was not disappointed 
at all when I first saw it. The first opportunity came around 2001 on a 
business trip to NC. Their hospitality was unbelievably warm and sincere as you 
know. In the sort time I was there they both made me feel like I was part of 
the family.  

I learned about Ben's illness a few years ago in an email from Linda.  She 
thoughtfully when in his emails and responded to an email I sent Ben that he 
never answered a year prior.  Because my father also suffered (and later died) 
from Alzheimer's disease I made it a point to stay in touch from time to time 
with Linda to let her know I knew what she was going through and she was not 
alone.  

Hopefully I'll make back to the fest soon. Perhaps we can have a toast to the 
radio ops that have gone before us and share some stories. I think Ben would 
appreciate that. 

73,
Ulis

On Jul 14, 2014, at 2:24 PM, Risto Vähäkainu <[email protected]> 
wrote:

> 
> Dear Ulis,
> 
> thanks for passing this sad info. Ever since my first evening at the SWL in 
> 1995 Ben and I were good friends and we always got well along. We met several 
> times at the fest and he asked me to visit his place someday. This became 
> reality in 2002, when I (together with the late Juha ignatius) stayed at his 
> place for some days. We had great fun together and we enjoyed seeing his vast 
> receiver collection plus his fabulous cars. After that I was absent from the 
> fest for many years and when I returned I was shocked to hear that he was 
> badly dementized and we never met again.
> 
> 
> Rest in peace Ben
> 
> 
> your friend
> 
> Risto
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lainaus bernieS <[email protected]>:
> 
>> So sad.  I was unable to find a picture of Ben Hester in the newspaper 
>> obituary below, or on the funeral home obituary it links to.
>> 
>> -bernieS
>> 
>> 
>> At 09:42 AM 7/14/2014, U Fleming wrote:
>> 
>>> I received a phone call yesterday from Linda Hester, Ben's wife, that he 
>>> passed away Friday from complications of the horribly destructive 
>>> Alzheimer's Disease.  Ben was a regular for many years at the SWL fest and 
>>> an avid receiver collector.  If you met Ben at the fest you would surely 
>>> remember him.  Not only an excellent engineer but a kind hearted gentleman 
>>> and great story teller.
>>> 
>>> His obit can be found here:
>>> 
>>> <http://www.journalnow.com/obituaries/hester-benny-lee/article_45f94644-154e-5dcb-8078-70b125a44a6a.html>http://www.journalnow.com/obituaries/hester-benny-lee/article_45f94644-154e-5dcb-8078-70b125a44a6a.html
>>> 
>>> Linda wanted me to make sure that word of his passing was sent out to his 
>>> radio friends.  If you know anyone who might not be on this list that knew 
>>> Ben please let them know.
>>> 
>>> 73,
>>> 
>>> Ulis Fleming
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Swlfest mailing list
>>> [email protected]
>>> http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swlfest
>>> 
>>> To unsubscribe:  Send an E-mail to  
>>> [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL 
>>> shown above.
>>> 
>>> For more information on the Fest, visit:
>>> 
>>> http://www.swlfest.com
>>> http://swlfest.blogspot.com
> 
> 
> -- 
> Risto Vähäkainu
> tietotekniikka-asiantuntija
> Helsingin yliopisto
> Tietotekniikkakeskus/järjestelmäpalvelut
> p. 050-529 2909
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Swlfest mailing list
> [email protected]
> http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swlfest
> 
> To unsubscribe:  Send an E-mail to  
> [email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown 
> above.
> 
> For more information on the Fest, visit:
> 
> http://www.swlfest.com
> http://swlfest.blogspot.com
_______________________________________________
Swlfest mailing list
[email protected]
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swlfest

To unsubscribe:  Send an E-mail to  
[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown 
above.

For more information on the Fest, visit:

http://www.swlfest.com
http://swlfest.blogspot.com

Reply via email to