Benjamin Randall Franke was born December 2, 1983 to Dean Winston Franke II and Amy Randall Franke at Unity Hospital in Fridley, Minnesota. The third of three sons, Ben arrived two weeks late at a lamentable 11 lbs 4 oz. That size matched that of his spirit; even if more often dropped as a factoid to amaze and dismay mothers everywhere.
Ben spent his early years in Mexico City, Mexico, where his father's work had taken their family. He did the majority of his schooling in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he graduated from Park Center Senior High School in 2002. Along the way Ben dabbled in track and cross country skiing. He became an Eagle Scout. Most importantly, he picked up a trumpet. That first passion blossomed into a life in music and a life of service to others, often through music.
Ben attended the University of Minnesota at Duluth, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. While in college, Ben became a committed member of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps out of Lacrosse, Wisconsin with whom he performed in competitive marching band performances throughout the United States.
While in that musical milieu, Ben met and fell in love with Megan Habiger, then pursuing a Masters in Vocal Performance. Plotting a life together and in the Arts, the couple moved to the Las Vegas area to start their teaching careers in 2007. From their adopted home in the Nevada desert, in the summer of 2008 they made a return trip to a sunny stretch of Minnesota Lake Superior shoreline to be bonded in marriage. It was one of the best decisions Ben ever made.
Ben’s professional life was dedicated to education. He served as associate director of bands and then director of bands at Coronado High School for a span of eight years, from 2007-2015 and one year as associate band director at Bailey Middle School. For the last eight years, from 2016-2023, Ben taught at Garrett Junior High School in Boulder City, Nevada. Along the way, Ben earned a Masters in Wind Band Conducting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2014 and became a National Board Certified secondary instrumental music teacher in 2017.
Ben was an outstanding educator. His talent, discipline, and unbridled love of learning drew in and inspired countless students to engage with music; many of whom carried that cultivated passion into further education and beyond. Highlights of Ben's band career were having his students perform in the 4th of July Parade in Washington, DC and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland. Even as Ben made the change from high school to junior high to be more present to his sons Abraham (8) and Theodore (4), his impact remained impressive. During his tenure at Garrett, Ben helped grow the music program to include hundreds of young musicians. To Ben’s curious and giving spirit, he had merely been planting seeds for students to harvest later in life. Ben shifted from running the band program to a new position as director of the STEM program at Garrett in the Fall of 2023. His task was to build the program from the ground up. Even with too short a tenure, that trust placed in Ben produced a foundation upon which others can build. Ben being Ben, a foundation laid for others would be counted as a win.
Ben would throw himself into a project he believed in, to secure funding and do the other unglamorous legwork required to give his students the experiences he knew they deserved. In just one case, in 2022, Ben had his STEM classes build and customize fender electric guitars from scratch, which the students themselves kept as theirs once finished. He sourced the funds, assembled the assorted tools, and guided middle schoolers through a careful construction process to make an incredible keepsake. With a smile on his face, Ben tied the skilled construction craft to his musical passions.
More than anything, Ben defined himself through loving family. His wife Megan was the love of his life. His sons Abraham and Theodore were the center of his universe. Although anchored in the love of his parents and brothers and the boisterous extended family into which he was born, Ben was always open to love. Megan’s family became his family, not just in law but in love. Ben and Megan’s friends blurred that line yet further, often making the distinction between a friend and a family member blessedly beside the point. Such is the legacy of Ben’s love, and his love of family.
Ben died in Henderson, Nevada on October 18, 2023 after a short but serious illness. He had sought medical care for early symptoms, but required hospitalization when his condition deteriorated dramatically on the morning of the 18th. Medical providers made heroic efforts to keep him with us. Ben wanted to be with us. We feel his absence. And yet Ben is and will always be with us.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmboulderhighway.com for the Franke family.
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