Ben Buitenhek

Ben Buitenhek, 91, passed away on January 9, 2018 following a brief illness. Ben was born in Boxtel, the Netherlands on March 14, 1926 to the late Agnes Scheepers and Willem Buitenhek. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Emmy Christine (EC) van de Straat Buitenhek.

A gentleman and gentle man, Ben was cherished and admired by everyone he met. His kind spirit touched hearts and the twinkle in his eye made everyone smile.

As a young man he joined the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. Ben trained at the Platoon Commander’s School in Quantico, Virginia in 1945 and then served as a Captain with the Genie Battalion in Indonesia from 1946 through 1948. He continued to serve in the Royal Reserve from 1948 to 1971.

After his active service, Ben returned to the Netherlands.

At an officer’s club dance, he met up with Emmy van de Straat, a friend from his swim club they both had belonged to in the past. In a memorable exchange, he told her he would have the next dance on her dance card…as well as all the rest. True to his word, not only did they dance together that night, Ben married EC on September 8, 1949 and they danced together for another 66 glorious years.

Ben worked for Gulf Oil in London. They returned to the Netherlands for a short time and then moved to Indonesia when Ben joined Royal Dutch Shell. Ben’s son Peter was born on November 21, 1951 in Surabaya, Indonesia. They returned back to the Netherlands where their daughter Karina was born on November 20, 1957 in Rotterdam. In 1960, the family made another extensive move, this time to Alameda, California. As Ben’s career matured, the family moved to Penn Hills, PA; Cleveland Heights, OH; and Country Club Hills, IL. In 1987 Ben retired and he and EC moved to Charlotte, NC to be close to their daughter and her family.

Ben was industrious and retirement was not for him. He quipped, “there are only so many times you can paint the front porch”. Ben returned to work with several local Charlotte companies until his final retirement in 2014 at the age of 87.

Ben had a deep fascination with flying. He had been a student flyer of small Cessna planes but embraced the hobby of building remote-controlled planes. After hundreds of hours of detailed construction, he would take a plane to the field to fly it. At first it didn’t go quite well and he returned home with balsa toothpicks! And for many years, he also satisfied his flying passion by going to airport overlooks. He could and would watch the planes for hours.

Ben is survived by his son Peter Buitenhek and his wife Kristine and by his daughter, Karina Glass and her husband Everette. He is survived by a granddaughter, Katie Ridgway and her husband, Bryan Ridgway; by grandsons David Buitenhek and his wife Amy; Kevin Glass and his wife Stefani; Hunter Glass; and Ryan Glass and his wife Kelli. Also surviving are his five great-grandchildren, Abigail Ridgway, Isabelle Ridgway, James Buitenhek, Henry Buitenhek and Emily Glass.

A service celebrating Ben’s life will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, January 20, 2018 at McEwen Pineville Chapel,10500 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC 28210, with the Reverend Earl Bradshaw officiating. The family will receive friends immediately after the service.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mcewenpinevillechapel.com.