Ben Gerald Reynolds

Ben Gerald Reynolds, age 82, joined hands with the angels in heaven late morning on November 9, 2020, at The Hospice of East Texas.
His children feel his life can be summed up with just one quote. “It is easy to die a hero, but the righteous man has the courage to live a humble life.”
Ben Gerald Reynolds, born on October 26, 1938, in McKinney, Texas. He was proud to be a Texan and was most definitely a gentleman and acted first-class in everything he did. But let’s be honest, he was a very stubborn and strong man right up until the end, always in a good way. This is just a few of the many great and cherished characteristics of him that we all will hold deeply in our hearts.
Ben was married a few times, but as we all know and as was the case in his life, “The third time is a charm.” He married the love of his life, Carol Ann Reynolds, in 1991 and what a love story and adventurous life they had between them including 13 children total; 8 on his side and 5 on Carol’s, with never a dull moment or a shortage of love.
Some of his favorite hobbies were hunting, dancing the country two-step (all the girls wanted to have the first dance with him) Aviation was a passion of his and is where he spent most of his career after serving our country in the Navy during his younger years. He was always very proud to tell his stories and experiences during his time in the Navy to anyone who would listen right up until his passing.
He loved the challenge of a good crossword puzzle and did them every day to keep his mind fresh. Let’s not forget his jigsaw puzzles and electronic poker games that kept him busy when he could no longer go to the casino due to his health deteriorating.
Last but not least, he loved his coins. He always seemed to spot them laying on the ground and picked them up to build up his coin jar one coin at a time. He enjoyed taking them to the bank to deposit his collections right up ‘til the end, so if you see a coin on the ground, pick it up, put it in your jar and pay it forward in honor of Ben. That will definitely put a smile in his heart and on his face.
Ben was a man that lived for his wife, children, many grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He loved all of them so deeply and was so proud of them all no matter what life experiences arose. He had a sparkle in his eyes and a ray of sunshine glowing around him every time he talked about them. The love he had for his wife, Carol, was simply priceless, and we all can take a lesson from him on that.
God Bless to this amazing man, husband, brother, dad, grandpa, and friend. You will deeply be missed, and until we all meet up again, fly high our sweet angel. Heaven received a beautiful gift.
Ben is survived by and was proud to be a big brother to his sister, Lucretia Hardin; children, Johnny Reynolds, Gerrie Lovejoy, Scott Reynolds, Kelly Rigsby, Nichelle Sims, Amy Cummings, Benjie Reynolds, Jill Hubbard, Bobbi Ferrandino, Jonni Hare, Don Shivers, and Ron Shivers; 27 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Sondra Autry and granddaughter, Christina Morris.