He is survived by Sue, his loving wife of 38 years, and four of his five surviving children, including sons, Ricky Reese Sr. (Larraine), and William Reese (Eileen), and daughters, Janell Peters (Doren) and Tina Norman (Rick). He also leaves behind 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren with one more on the way. His adoring sister, Betty Tompkins of Kansas City, Mo., also survives him.
His son, Robert Reese, preceded him in death on Feb. 28, 1982.

Benton grew up in the Midwest and in California. He was a member of the Class of 1946 at Vallejo High School and Cherokee County Community High School at Columbus, Kan. In 1946, he joined the Navy and served as a corpsman at Corona Naval Hospital. After the war was over, he completed his college studies at Kansas University. Go Jay Hawks!

Ben and his family returned to Vallejo, and in 1955 he started his 33 year career as a State Farm insurance agent, retiring on Dec. 31, 1988. The family lived in Marin County from 1966 to 1991 and then moved to Suisun City until his passing.

He was a member of the Marin County Sheriffs Marine Patrol for many years and served as captain of the group. Ben also was responsible for setting up the Solano County Sheriffs Marine Patrol with Sheriff Al Cardoza and Dr. John Miller. Additionally, he served as reserve captain of that group. In 1972, Ben again joined the Navy as a reservist at Mare Island with Coastal River Division XI and Special Boat Unit XI where he completed his 20 years of service. He was a past Sachem of the Vallejo Improved Order of Redman.

Our beloved Ben will live in our hearts forever.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, at Rockville Presbyterian Fellowship, 4177 Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield. Memorial donations may be made to North Bay Hospice located at 5140 Business Center Drive, Suite. 130, in Fairfield, CA 94533.
Arrangements are under the care of Bryan-Braker Funeral Home, 425-4697 or   www.bryanbraker.com.