Ben Brode had logged a lifetime of exciting adventures out in the world by the time I met him. But when destiny opened the door, he was ready for one more — a 44-year journey of the heart. As he told his kids recently, “When I got together with your mother, it felt like setting sail from the Galapagos to the Marquesas — into the unknown on an adventure I wouldn’t want to miss.” And he didn’t miss a thing. His kids, Ben E., Emma, and Carrie, remember how he showed up for camping trips, drove the water polo team, went to horse shows, organized art shows, set up lemonade stands, made cookies after school, and drove them every summer out to their land in northern New Mexico. Key to his fabulous relationship with his kids: Ben offered advice only when asked.
I was really into theater, and Brode knew that, of course, so he built all the sets for my summer stock performance of Lord of the Rings. And he made me a really cool axe out of wood, so when I said, ‘And my axe!’ it was, actually, my axe!
Ben Eichenberg, stepson
I’ve never known anyone who was more capable of building or fixing anything. If you asked him to build you a simple arbor, he’d build you the most spectacular masterpiece because that’s just who he was. Everything he touched turned into a work of art.
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