Benjamin M Banks Jr was born on April 1, 2007 and passed away November 25, 2017.   He lived his whole life in Chippewa Township in Beaver County and went to Blackhawk School District. Ben had a massive brain aneurysm on November 2, 2017.  He bravely fought through 23 days until his body slowly gave out.  Ben was deeply loved by his parents, sister, family, and friends. 

Ben was an amazing 10 year old boy who was taken from his family too early, but left a lasting legacy.  Ben had many hurdles and hardships to overcome in his short life; Autism/ADHD, High Blood Pressure, Polycystic Kidney Disease, and Liver Fibrosis.  Ben didn't let that stop him from being a joyful, fun-loving boy who played hard.  He loved to play cars, superhero's, Legos, and with friends.   He had an intense love for cars since he was just a baby.  As he grew he would look through Car books, magazines, and newspaper fliers.  When he would meet someone his first question would be, “what kind of car do you drive?”  When he saw that person again he would remember the car they drove and ask them about it.  Ben also was into reviewing toy cars for his YouTube channel.  This fun hobby turned into him reviewing real cars for Beaver County Auto's Facebook Page.  This accomplishment was a dream come true for Ben.  He got to crawl around in a brand new car, ride in it, and talk about it.  His catch phrase was "HOLD ON TO YOUR GUTS!"

After Ben’s death we were trying to work through the intense grief of losing a child and trying to make sense of our family without him. A few months later we were approached by friends about starting a Scholarship in memory of Ben, with the Jumet Charitable Foundation. This gave us a way to still love and remember Ben as we worked on fundraising events, school meetings, and choosing scholarship recipients. We could never thank our friends enough for loving Ben and giving us this avenue of remembrance to continue loving our son. 4 years later here we are starting a Foundation with the same friends to encompass all our Ben ventures in one place - Scholarship, PKD Medical trial, and Ben’s Toy Bins. Our plan is to add to this list as the years roll on. Lil Ben’s love in life was having fun, and playing hard, which we all need a bit more of. This is always at the fore front of all we try to convey with this Foundation.

“HOLD ONTO YOUR GUTS” as we play hard and have fun in memory of Ben!