Benjamin Clark Roche Memorial Fund
Donation protected
On August 17, 2017, we lost our beloved Benjamin Clark Roche to a long battle with opiate abuse. Ben was an incredibly talented, creative, intelligent, deep, compassionate, funny, sweet sweet soul. He was an amazing uncle, devoted son and brother, loving boyfriend, beloved friend, and genuinely adored by all who met him.
Ben was born on July 24th, 1980 in Pontiac Michigan. He was the son to Bonnie and Greg Roche and the middle brother to older brother Adam and younger brother Chris. He grew up in Birmingham and attend Quarton Elementary, Covington middle school, and Seaholm High school. He then went on to study filmmaking at the University of Colorado at Boulder. From an early age Ben excelled in both sports and in the arts. He was particularly great at any sport that required running. He played football, lacrosse, and track, reaching the state finals with his 4x100 meter relay team. He also had great passion for snowboarding. He always carried a deep love for music, and In middle school began taking guitar lessons. He would continue playing throughout his life, joining numerous bands of various types. As far back as his family can recall, Ben had a real affection for technology and filmmaking. While studying film in college, Ben won a number of awards including the best short film at the First Look Student Film Festival.
After college, Ben moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his passion for entertainment. He worked on a variety of projects, including the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s film War of the Worlds, editing a feature length film starring Bruce Dern and Val Kilmer, and creating motion graphics for concerns, and for the band Silversun Pickups among others. Ben was exceptionally creative and his talent spanned film production, computer animation, drawing, photography and music. He had a deep knowledge of film history and was an avid music listener. Ben played guitar avidly, and recorded with his childhood friends Ben Berry and Drew Phillips in the band Moke Hill. Ben had also recently started to take drum lessons and was in the process of learning software to create electronic music.
Ben was an incredibly warm and caring person. His childhood friends tell me Ben was always the cool guy who had it all, but was kind to everyone regardless of how cool or uncool they were. He was a devoted son, brother and friend, a loving boyfriend, and an amazing uncle to 3 young boys. He was also a dedicated dad to his furry son Mitch Mitchell.
Ben struggled with opiate abuse on and off for 12 years. He sought treatment in the past year, but relapsed several times. In the last few months before his death, Ben again attained sobriety, and was doing really well. He began talking passionately about the opiate/ opioid epidemic and the political lobby to decriminalize addicts, destigmatize drug abuse, and fund research toward effective education, prevention, and treatment programs. In his honor, we are requesting donations toward this cause. 100% of the funds will be donated to foundations, programs, and lobbies aligned with Ben's beliefs regarding opiate and opioid addiction and treatment.
May Ben's memory be a blessing and continue to touch lives as he has touched everyone who has ever known him.
Created with love by the Roche family and Tara.
Ben was born on July 24th, 1980 in Pontiac Michigan. He was the son to Bonnie and Greg Roche and the middle brother to older brother Adam and younger brother Chris. He grew up in Birmingham and attend Quarton Elementary, Covington middle school, and Seaholm High school. He then went on to study filmmaking at the University of Colorado at Boulder. From an early age Ben excelled in both sports and in the arts. He was particularly great at any sport that required running. He played football, lacrosse, and track, reaching the state finals with his 4x100 meter relay team. He also had great passion for snowboarding. He always carried a deep love for music, and In middle school began taking guitar lessons. He would continue playing throughout his life, joining numerous bands of various types. As far back as his family can recall, Ben had a real affection for technology and filmmaking. While studying film in college, Ben won a number of awards including the best short film at the First Look Student Film Festival.
After college, Ben moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his passion for entertainment. He worked on a variety of projects, including the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s film War of the Worlds, editing a feature length film starring Bruce Dern and Val Kilmer, and creating motion graphics for concerns, and for the band Silversun Pickups among others. Ben was exceptionally creative and his talent spanned film production, computer animation, drawing, photography and music. He had a deep knowledge of film history and was an avid music listener. Ben played guitar avidly, and recorded with his childhood friends Ben Berry and Drew Phillips in the band Moke Hill. Ben had also recently started to take drum lessons and was in the process of learning software to create electronic music.
Ben was an incredibly warm and caring person. His childhood friends tell me Ben was always the cool guy who had it all, but was kind to everyone regardless of how cool or uncool they were. He was a devoted son, brother and friend, a loving boyfriend, and an amazing uncle to 3 young boys. He was also a dedicated dad to his furry son Mitch Mitchell.
Ben struggled with opiate abuse on and off for 12 years. He sought treatment in the past year, but relapsed several times. In the last few months before his death, Ben again attained sobriety, and was doing really well. He began talking passionately about the opiate/ opioid epidemic and the political lobby to decriminalize addicts, destigmatize drug abuse, and fund research toward effective education, prevention, and treatment programs. In his honor, we are requesting donations toward this cause. 100% of the funds will be donated to foundations, programs, and lobbies aligned with Ben's beliefs regarding opiate and opioid addiction and treatment.
May Ben's memory be a blessing and continue to touch lives as he has touched everyone who has ever known him.
Created with love by the Roche family and Tara.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tara Chandler
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Chris Roche
Beneficiary
