Benjamin Austin

BENJAMIN AUSTIN SR., aged 96 years, dearly beloved husband for 66 years to the late Mildred F. (nee Raab), dear father of Benjamin, Jr. (wife Betty), Jerome (wife Deborah), Wayne (wife Cheryl – deceased), Terry DiDona (husband Charles) and Emily Charalambous (husband Gus), loving grandfather of Stephen, Roxanne, Renee, Marlon, April, Robin, Nicole, Claire, Andreas, Vincenzo and step-grandfather to Dennis, Nicholas, Melissa, Sarah and Brandon, cherished great-grandfather of 14, treasured son of the late Chester B. and Emma O. (nee Howard), devoted brother of Wilbert, Joe and the late Chester, Melvin and Ruthie Mae. United States Navy Veteran.

Benjamin Austin was born on July 24, 1918 in Jefferson County, Alabama. From there he moved to Pittsburgh, then settled in Cleveland in 1944, where he remained until passing away in his home on March 11, 2015. Ben was a veteran of the United States Navy, working as a welder. He was a music teacher, piano tuner, and instructor of all instruments – harmony and theory. He was a life time member of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians. Ben had a private pilot’s license from Horn’s Flying School in Chagrin Falls, and delighted in taking all of his children for rides in the Cessna aircraft. Ben was an avid gardener and lover of all flowers and plants. He grew fruit trees in his yard, and even built a greenhouse attached to his home.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at the funeral home at 10:30 AM. Burial following with military honors in Lake View Cemetery. The family will receive friends to pay tribute and celebrate the life of Ben at THE DeJOHN-FLYNN-MYLOTT FUNERAL HOME OF SOUTH EUCLID, 4600 MAYFIELD RD. (just East of Green Rd.) WEDNESDAY 3-5 AND 6-8 PM.