Farmington Daily Times
1/5/2009
Redondo Beach, California
Benjamin Matthew Chandler
Dec. 20, 1979 - Jan. 1, 2009
Benjamin Matthew Chandler, 29, of Redondo Beach, Calif., passed away Jan. 1, 2009, in Las Cruces. He was born Dec. 20, 1979, in Farmington.
He graduated from Farmington High School in 1998. He attended college and graduate school at New Mexico State University, majoring in mechanical engineering. He was a member of the Eta Chi chapter of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity as well as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He moved to Phoenix in 2005 and worked for Belcan Engineering. In 2006, he took a job with Honeywell Corporation in Torrance, Calif., where he was employed at the time of his death.
While attending NMSU, Ben was part of a team of mechanical engineering students who designed and built a fishing rod allowing quadriplegics to accurately cast and reel a lure. They won their regional competition in Flagstaff, Ariz., and competed in the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Congress Student Design Contest in New York City in November of 2001. In graduate school, he participated in the ASME Mini Baja competition in Logan, Utah, where he and his team designed and built an off-road vehicle and raced it against other prestigious engineering schools from around the country.
Ben enjoyed camping, hiking, skiing and snow boarding. During his last semester in graduate school, he took a brewing science class. He loved to brew beer for his friends, grill them a steak and make homemade ice cream. When the Phoenix heat forced him inside, he took up the guitar. After the move to California, he became a certified scuba diver. Ben was also an avid reader and had an extensive collection of classic literature. Ben enjoyed all kinds of projects and helped his parents do bathroom remodels, tackling plumbing, electrical and tiling. Ben also enjoyed woodworking and built several pieces of furniture.
Ben was preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Robert and Genevieve Kannard; and paternal grandfather, Glen Garrett.
He is survived by his parents, Larry and Joan Chandler of Farmington; brother, David and wife, Jennifer; and nephew, Sean Matthew of Las Cruces. He is also survived by paternal grandmother, Alene Garrett of Bowie, Texas; uncles, James Kannard and wife, Barbara, of Longview, Texas, Thomas Kannard and wife, Martha, of Bloomfield, Richard Kannard and wife, Madella, of Farmington; aunts, Glenda Roth and husband, Waldo, of Bowie, Susan Burton and husband, Lewis, of Butte, Mont., and Deborah Garrett of Ft. Worth, Texas.
Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. today, Monday, Jan. 5, at Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 East Ute St. in Farmington.
A celebration of Benjamin's life will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, at Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, with Reverend Steve Carrington officiating.
Benjamin will then be laid to rest near his grandparents at Memory Gardens, 6917 E. Main St. in Farmington.
Pallbearers are Jesse Kannard, Robert Kannard, Daniel Kannard, Jacob Attaway, Kevin Woolfolk, and Andy Johns.
Honorary pallbearers are David Jones, Dennis May, Tom Seay, Brian Thompson, Rollie Wright, and the brothers of the Eta Chi chapter of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Ben's name to the scholarship fund of the College of Mechanical Engineering of NMSU. P.O. Box 30001, MSC 3450, Las Cruces, NM 88003-3450 (575) 646-3501
Should friend desire to send condolences to the family they may do so at www.danielsfuneral.com
Benjamin's services are entrusted to Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington, (505) 325-8688.