Benjamin Harrison Gaston died Thursday evening, July 2, 2009, while walking the family dogs with his daughter Linzy. A funeral service will be held for Ben on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at eleven o'clock in the morning at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Muskogee. The Reverend Clay Blevins will lead the service. Pallbearers will be Charles Bradley, Chris James, Preston Jones, Lake Moore, Greg Newman, Harrison Gaston and Mark Wilkerson.

Ben was born December 1, 1959, in Muskogee, Oklahoma to Benjamin Howard Gaston and Suetta Frances Hartman Gaston. Ben received his high school degree from Muskogee High School and his Bachelor of Arts in History from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Ben worked for ten years in his father's medical office, where his duties were many and varied. At the time of Ben's death he was a Realtor Associate for Lake Moore Realty. It was said of Ben there was nothing he couldn't catch or fix. His friends and family hold dear the many hours spent fishing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking and camping with Ben.

Ben and his wife Cynthia Ann Linzy Gaston were married June 22, 1985. Their son Harrison Wesley Gaston was born in 1990 and their daughter Linzy Ann Gaston was born in 1994. Ben was preceded in death by his father and his infant sister Karen Lee Gaston. In addition to his wife and children, Ben leaves behind his mother, two sisters, two brothers and their families: Suetta Gaston of Muskogee, Oklahoma; Colene Gaston and Roger Montgomery and their children Anne, Peter and Will of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Nancy Gaston Mattax and her children Kate, Ben and Sam of Springfield, Missouri; Robert and Hollis Gaston and their children Baxter and Leah of Austin, Texas; and James Gaston of Marathon, Texas.

Ben's death is also mourned by Barbara and Scott Roger and their children of Washington, D.C.; Jim Mattax of Springfield, Missouri; Ben's mother-in-law and father-in-law Ina and Kenneth Linzy of Porter, Oklahoma; his brother-in-law Kent Linzy of Tulsa, Oklahoma; his brother-in-law Kevin Linzy, Kevin's wife Terri, and their children of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and his sister-in-law Nancy Linzy Eaton, her husband Scott, and their children of Muskogee, Oklahoma.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests only your thoughts, prayers, love and friendship. If you desire to do more, Ben's extended family has established a college fund for Harrison and Linzy at BancFirst in Muskogee, Oklahoma.