Benjamin "Ben" Troy Franklin

Rev. Benjamin "Ben" Troy Franklin U.S. Air Force MSGT Retired

Aiken, SC—Ninety-one years ago in North Page, WV, Ben arrived as the 13^th child of his parents John & Lillie Mae Franklin on June 18, 1931. The doctor looked at Lillie Mae and said he was naming this one, Benjamin. He spent his childhood in North Page and Beards Fork area playing baseball as often as he could. He met the love of his life, Pat, as a teenager at Kincaid Church of God. Ben joined the Army at age 15 (by forging his mother’s signature & lying about his age) for a short stint. Tried working in Detroit but decided a career in the Air Force was best.   For the next twenty plus years, he and Pat went from Langley AFB (VA) to Bedford (VA) to Ramstein AFB (Germany) to Bolling AFB (Washington, D.C.) where he finished his military service. While at Bolling AFB, he was in the Honor Guard serving at the funerals for President Kennedy, President Eisenhower, and Douglas McArthur. Leaving the military, Ben spent the next twenty years working for the Federal Government with the U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Postal Service, and U.S. Marshall Service. After forty plus years with the Federal Government, God called Ben to the ministry where he served faithfully until his death in West Virginia and Aiken, SC. Dear to his heart was ministering to the sick and those incarcerated. Ben thoroughly enjoyed playing games with anyone who would play, traveling with his family, reading his beloved scriptures, and honoring America. He laughed, sang (out of tune) and lived life to the fullest every day. He is preceded in death by his parents and all brothers & sisters. Ben leaves behind his wife of 69 years Patricia (Pat); his son, Ben David; his daughter, Brenda (Gary) McCollum; grandchildren Stephanie McCollum, Doug (Stephanie) McCollum, and Andy McCollum; and two great grandchildren Jane Aurora (7yrs) and Bennet Alan (5yrs) McCollum. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Lighthouse Baptist Church (Aiken, SC) or the Jones Avenue Church of God (Oak Hill, WV),

Two funerals to be held – one for his “southern” family and one for his “northern” family.

Southern funeral: August 27^th @ Lighthouse Baptist Church / 2094 Columbia Hwy N / Aiken, SC beginning @ 11:00am

Northern funeral with full military honors: September 17^th @ Jones Avenue Church of God

420 Jones Avenue / Oak Hill, WV beginning @ 1:00pm

COLE FUNERAL HOME 1544 UNIVERSITY PKWY (118 BYPASS) AIKEN, SC 29801 803-648-7175. Please sign the online registry at www.colefuneralhomeinc.net.