<div>Dear community,
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<div>It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking passing of Ben Villano, a warm, compassionate soul committed to building a just world rooted in love, deep care, and liberation for all people.
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<div>The hearts of Ben’s beloved wife, Atim, and the Villano family are completely shattered after sweet Ben’s life was taken in a <a href="https://www.startribune.com/one-dead-after-high-speed-collision-at-top-of-i-94-exit-ramp-in-st-paul/601523761" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">senseless ,tragic car accident</a> at only 31. He was on his way to work at Rose Street Patisserie’s Bread Lab.
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<div>We ask you, our community members, to wrap your arms around Atim and the Villano family as they grieve by offering your financial support. As Atim and the Villano family navigate this unfathomable, deeply painful loss, your donations will give them space and time to honor Ben, seek justice for his memory, and grieve by lifting the heaviness and stress of significant financial burden.
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<div>Everyday, Ben devoted his heart and hands to lovingly crafting and baking artisan bread, nourishing the bodies, hearts, and souls of thousands of locals. While Ben thoroughly enjoyed baking and bringing joy to his community through food, he cherished the love and light of his life, Atim, more than anything in this world. Ben was funny, gentle, creative, and wholly adored by his life partner, mom and dad, sister and sibling, family, friends, and fellow bakers. Anyone who crossed paths with him felt how deeply he cared for people. He helped people learn and see things in new ways, loved to build things and experiment, adored music, food, &amp; dogs, brought silliness and groundedness to the people around him, and met others with understanding and thoughtfulness. His bellowing laugh reverberated through the space and time he shared with loved ones, filling them with unadulterated joy and hope for a better world.
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<div>Ben will be remembered as <em>a beautiful soul </em>who embodied what it means to remain kind and soft in a cruel, unjust world. Please join us in remembering Ben’s kindness &amp; tenderness by offering your financial support to his life partner and family.
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<div>By donating, you honor Ben’s legacy of devotion to a loving world rooted in deep care by minimizing financial strain for his dear Atim and family as they mourn and <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2025/11/13/man-charged-with-criminal-vehicular-homicide-st-paul-crash-killed-other-driver/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seek justice</a> for his memory.
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<div><strong>Your loving donation, no matter the size, helps:</strong>
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<li>Atim and the Villano family honor Ben with the memorial he deserves
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<li>Atim to pay mental health and therapy cost
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<li>Atim to pay the full cost of rent and utilities for the home she and Ben shared
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<li>Meet additional or unforeseen financial needs Atim and the Villano family experience as they grieve
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<div><strong>Additional ways you may offer care to ease financial strain and stress for Atim and the Villano family:</strong>
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<li>Share financial resources directly with Atim via Cash App ($aopoka24) or Venmo (aopoka24)
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<li>Sign up to deliver a meal to their homes or donate a Doordash, UberEats, or GrubHub giftcard: <a href="https://mealtrain.com/w44lgq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Atim’s Meal Train</a>, <a href="https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/emmq2y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Emily’s Meal Train</a> , <a href="https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/lgg1mw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Josie and Sarah’s Meal Train</a>
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<div>We thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your kind donations. Your messages of condolence, thoughts &amp; prayers, and memories of Ben are deeply felt. May we all adoringly remember sweet Ben, his life, and his legacy forevermore. Details on Ben’s memorial will be communicated at a later date.
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Support Ben's Memorial and Justice for his Memory

<div>Hey everyone, Spencer here with SB Mowing, and I got a call from a friend at the city, and she told me that there is an elderly lady that is in desperate need of help. So, I stopped by her house, and her lawn was getting CRAZY! She’s been trying to get someone out to take care of it, but nobody is answering their phones. The city has given her a warning for her grass and was going to charge her $240 to cut it, which she couldn’t afford. So, I completely transformed her lawn for free, and she was in tears; she was so happy.
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<div>I shared the video a few months later on my social media platforms, and a lot of people are wanting to donate to help her fix some of the accessibility issues around her home. Here are the things that I think would go a long way for her.
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<div>1. A ramp going to her door so that she doesn't have to walk up and down stairs to get outside.
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<div>2. A new driveway - Her current driveway is really broken up and is a bad tripping hazard.
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<div>3. A chair lift to get her to her washer and dryer downstairs. Currently, she relies on her neighbors across the street to come over once a month to go downstairs to do her laundry.
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<div>4. I would like to pay a company to maintain her yard for the next few years. Unfortunately, it is a bit too far of a drive for me to get there every week.
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<div>5. If funds allow, she has a few broken windows that need to be replaced in her house.
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<div>6. If funds allow, she could use a new bed that is easier to get in and out of.
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<div>I really appreciate everyone that donates to help Beth out. I will make sure that the money goes towards fixing all of the items above or any other accessibility issues that Beth needs. Some leftover money will be give to her in cash and the rest will be donated to local non profits to help other people in the same situation she is in.
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Help Beth Gain Accessibility and Comfort

<strong>I am an essential worker whose and like all of us the last year has taken its. My partner of twenty-eight years died right when the pandemic began in January, I <br />injured my shoulders and my hours at work were cut. <br /><br />I was able to keep up with the mortgage <br />payment using a small inheritance and<br />my social security. Then George Floyd was killed. My house is located directly in back of the store where Mr. Floyd was<br />murdered. Between Wednesday and Thursday night some white supremacists and a group of protectors of the site had a gun battle in front of my house and bullets were fired through my front windows and into the walls. The insurance didn’t cover the cost of the windows and the walls.<br />There has been intermittent gunfire ever since. Too make maters worse I didn’t receive my social security in November which has made me behind by four months instead of two.<br /><br /> I love my house and my neighborhood<br />and I don’t want to lose it. Every woman in my family has owned property and I don’t want to be the first to lose mine.<br /><br /><br /></strong>

Deekz Resler

Deekz Resler

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