Burlock, Benjamin W., 20, November 9, 2014. A celebration of life will be held in early January.
Benjamin Walker Burlock, 20, died Sunday, November 9, 2014 from a head injury sustained at Tulane University. While seated on a low railing on a half-story dormitory staircase landing, he lost his balance and had no way to break his fall.
Born in New York City on March 27, 1994, Ben grew up in New York, San Francisco, California and Dingley Island, Maine. His childhood years were spent surrounded by a large loving family and many close friends on both coasts.
He spent his elementary school years at The Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, California and his high school years at both San Francisco’s Urban School and Hyde School in Bath, Maine from which he graduated in 2012.
Ben became a natural leader at Hyde where, early on, his teacher/coach Mr. Peter Rowe, understanding intuitively that all Ben needed for success was to be himself, gave him the nickname, “Triple B” for “Be-Ben-Burlock.” At Hyde, Ben did exactly that. His innate sense of humor, generosity of spirit, self-deprecating style, and passion for music, movies, sports and food easily earned him many friends and followers. Peers and adults alike were drawn to Ben’s quick wit, irreverent spirit, and open heart. Ben, with his signature swagger, helped lead the school to a near perfect record in basketball his senior year, was a tight end and quarterback in football, a midfielder in lacrosse, also ultimately excelled academically at Hyde which deepened his sense-of-self and won him admission to his first choice college: Tulane.
At Tulane, Ben continued to grow and flourish as a member of the University’s School of Liberal Arts where he planned to major in English. However, it was always his devotion to those he loved and the uninhibited individual path he elected to follow, which most clearly defined him.
“Ben lived life to the fullest with no fears and no regrets,” his best friend at Tulane, Spencer Kaye, writes, “He was always the guy to look up to, and not just because he was a giant (with his 6’4” 200-pound frame). He took every single day and turned it into an event we would always remember. Ben loved himself very much and that’s what gave him the unique ability to love everyone around him.”
In the closing sentence of his graduation speech from Hyde, Ben said of himself, “I’m funny, honest, easy on the eyes (looking up to flash his signature devil-may-care mischievous grin), intelligent, loyal and proud of who I am.” Ben’s family and many friends are also so very proud of the amazing young man he was. If only there were more who could “be (like) Ben Burlock.”
Ben’s life was honored at Tulane with a picnic on November 9th and a memorial bonfire on November 10th where dozens of friends and family shared stories about Ben late into the night. A remembrance was also held in front of Tulane’s McAlister Auditorium on November 12th, beginning with twenty single strikes of the University’s “victory bell”; one for each year of Ben’s well-lived life.
In conclusion, above all else, Ben treasured his sister Charley. Though three years younger than Ben, the two shared unparalleled love, kinship, and devotion for each other. “Ben was my best friend for seventeen years and I am grateful for every single moment I was fortunate enough to spend with him. He used to joke that deep down we were the same person and, though I never admitted this to him, nothing anyone has ever said to me has made me more proud. In times of turmoil, one hears superlatives, which sometimes serve to embellish genuine memories or emotions; however it is anything but a placeholder when I say Ben was the best brother and the best friend anyone could ever dream of having. He had the ability to find the humor in any situation without making light of it. Ben managed to possess both a dangerously sharp wit and an enormously soft heart, two traits that rarely, if ever, can coexist. I am endlessly grateful and proud to call him my brother.”
Ben is survived by his adoring parents, Leslie Walker Burlock and Walter “Buzz” Burlock; his beloved sister and closest friend and confidant, Margaret Charlotte “Charley” Burlock of San Francisco; his grandparents, Brooks and Danielle Walker of San Francisco and Walter and Sara Burlock of Harpswell, Maine; his aunts and uncles, Kirby Walker and Paul Danielsen of San Francisco, Brooks and Summer Tompkins Walker of San Francisco, Kelly Burlock Palaima and Ben Palaima of Tiburon, and Tracy Burlock and Mark Leuchtenberger of Newton, Massachusetts; his cousins, Myles and Clay Danielsen, Brooks, Della and Susie Walker of San Francisco, Rachael Palaima of Tiburon, and Grace Leuchtenberger of Newton, Massachusetts.
In lieu of flowers, those who wish may instead make a donation to The Benjamin Walker Burlock Scholarship and Memorial Fund benefiting at both Tulane University and The Hyde School. Details both about the fund and concerning a celebration of Ben’s life to be held in early January will be posted on Caring Bridge.org/visit/benburlock.
