13/01/12….Town says ‘Good-bye’ to Ben

IT was standing room only in St Mary’s Church in Thame this afternoon, as friends, relations, shop-keepers, town councillors, firemen and publicans quietly filed in to pay their respects, and to say farewell to a very unique young Thame character who has passed away.

Ben Guest, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour two years previously and was waiting to have an operation, died at home on Wednesday, January 4, following a seizure.

Terry Guest, father of 34 year-old Ben, spoke movingly of how he struggled at times to cope with his son, but how his enthusiastic nature and willingness to please touched so many people in his family and in the town.

Everyone you speak to has a story about Ben, and Terry’s recollection of an incident, when Ben disappeared from his till at the rear of Woolworths where he worked, was typical. Ben would often offer to help customers carry their purchases to their car, but when remonstrated for leaving his post for longer than usual, and asked by the manager where he had been, he replied: “Broadwaters Road!”

“When you look up at the sky tonight, you’ll see an extra star,” Terry told the congregation. “That star will be Ben, and he’ll be organising all the other stars just like he always liked to organise things down here.”

The whole congregation clapped as Ben’s casket, draped with flowers and his beloved QPR football scarf, was carried out through the back door of the church to its final resting place, in the sunniest corner of the church yard.

RIP Ben