Blog Post
Mr. Benjamin Allen "Ben" Bunch
Mr. Ben Bunch age 84 of Smithfield, NC transitioned peacefully at SECU Hospice House on Saturday October 1, 2022.
Arrangements: Walk-thru viewing Wednesday Oct. 5, 2022 at the Walter Sanders Funeral & Cremations 302 S. Bright Leaf Blvd. Smithfield, NC 27577 from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Graveside
service: Thursday Oct 6, 2022 at Sunset Memorial Park 747 W. Market St. Smithfield, NC 27577 starting at 11:00 am.
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to leave a message to the family of Mr. Ben Bunch.
Guest Book
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Debra Lawson Emmons
Email: dlemom@msn.com
Message: I just learned of Ben’s passing. I saw the ad in My State magazine this month & it moved me beyond words. His sweet Mother was a part of my family for my whole life & she was so proud of Ben. My heart goes out to all of the Bunch family from all of the Lawson family. I believe Ben mixed my first “mixed” drink at a wedding reception at the CCof Johnston County!! He made me promise I wouldn’t tell my Daddy!! I miss Nancy Bunch every day but know in my heart that she & Ben are rejoicing in Heaven this Christmas. May God Bless this precious family & know Ben is soaring in Heaven on the back of a horse.
Date: 122122
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Bob Poteat
Email: bob@poteat.com
Message: Ben Bunch was a good man.
Ben Bunch was a good friend.
Ben Bunch was my brother.
Each member in my family had their own individual relationship with Ben. Mine was mostly about just being friends.
we hung out together
we talked about personal things together
we worked together
we traveled together
we got into some mischief together
and we sometimes drank a little bit together. (stories of time together)
Ben helped guide me through experiences that weren’t part of my family’s skill set. Along the way, he taught me a lot about living and a lot about life. But still I was naive and unaware of much that was going on around me. As I went through my life and started to reflect on the realities of so many things that I had overlooked, Ben was there with his gentle but firm spirit to shine a light on those realities and, again, allow me to learn and to grow. (White House)
Ben was with me during most of the significant moments of my life. He was there when I got married; he was there when each of my children got married; he sat next to me at my father’s funeral; he sat next to me at my son’s funeral. I stand here with you today out of the love and respect that I have for this man.
Ralph Waldo Emerson offered this observation on the meaning of living a successful life:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
Ben Bunch was a success.
Ben Bunch was a good man.
Ben Bunch made a difference.
Date: 6oct22
Family or Deceased Name: Benjamin Allen Bunch
Your Name: James M. Allen, Jr.
Email: jmajun51@gmail.com
Message: I knew Ben through my mother’s work as office manager for Dr. Hubert M. Poteat: Ben was always around, doing this, that, or the other thing for the doctor and his family. Whenever I saw him he was always in a cheerful mood, and his infectious smile and engaging laugh made him a person it was always pleasant to be around. I can hear his voice in my head as he responds to my mother at the office as she’s passing along the latest request from the doctor, who’s at the hospital doing rounds. A kinder, gentler man I cannot imagine. Please accept my condolences for your loss. Ben was a mensch.
Date: 61022
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Buhch
Your Name: Hope Drayton
Email: hsdrayton123@gmail.com
Message: I send love and prayers to Ella and the family. Just keep on leaning on the Lord and the fond memories of Ben
God bless!
Philip & Hope Smith Dayton
Date: 10-7-22
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Rick & Angela Fanney
Email: rfanney11@gmail.com
Message: Such a kind and gentle man. He always had a smile and a friendly greeting whenever I saw him. We will keep his family in our prayers.
Date: 10092022
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Billy and Clara Wellons
Email: BelleDBDBB@aol.com
Message: with love we remember Ben through all the years
what a gracious and kind man
such a friend of Smithfield
Family or Deceased Name: Uncle Ben
Your Name: Jean and Jimmy
Email: DorothyTurner1047@gmail.com
Message: Uncle Ben i will miss you so much You were my favorite uncle. .Ella and the rest of our family i. will. keep you in prayer. Sorry I cant be with you but know you are in my heart RIP
Family or Deceased Name: The Benjamin Bunch family
Your Name: Michelle Austin
Email: austin.michelle1979@gmail.com
Message: Each life is a gift...It may create a gaping hole in our hearts, but imagine what we would have missed had we never held that special person in our arms, laughed with them, and cherished them...Every life – every person – is a wonderfully made sample of God's handiwork (Psalm 139)...Every human is an image-bearing likeness of God (Genesis 1:27)...Palms 139-14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Uncle Ben as we do affectionately knew him will be greatly missed by family and friends alike. RIP. You have definitely fulfilled GOD’s promise!
Date: 10052022
Family or Deceased Name: Mr. Ben Bunch
Your Name: Sharon Graham
Email: sharongraham49@aol.com
Message: To The Bunch Family May God comfort your during this difficult time. Mr. Bunch was such a kind man. When Rev. Graham and I came to Wesley Chapel he was there to greet us and always give a helping hand and support. Mr. Bunch told me to please apply to substitute teach at Selma Middle where he worked he thought I could help the kids there, it was a great experience. To Shelby and Alana I send you big hugs and love.
Family or Deceased Name: Benjamin Bunch
Your Name: Dr. Alexander Morgan
Email: alexengmp@hotmail.com
Message: Life is the most thing that one has. Our time on this earth is short, and none of us knows when our sun will set. Thus, we are blessed to be able to make the most of every day we witness the sun to rise.
May God grant us peace of consultation and joy of love in memory of a wonderful person, Ben Bunch.
Date: October 4th 2022
Family or Deceased Name: Bunch family
Your Name: Yvonne Reddick Patterson
Email: mylap@bellsouth.net
Message: I pray that God will bless and comfort you at this difficult time. " The Reddick Family"
Family or Deceased Name: Benjamin Allen Bunch
Your Name: Hannah Poteat
Email: hpoteat0@gmail.com
Message: Ben Bunch was a wonderful, gentle man, was basically my uncle, and also was the coolest person I knew. Ben, who was a few years older than my father, worked for my grandfather since before I was born, so to me, he'd always been part of our family. He took care of my grandfather's horses when he was young, and over the years became my grandfather's best friend.
So by the time I was about five, Ben was the /coolest/, and I idolized him and followed him around everywhere. He would take me to go ride Sunny, a palomino pony that I was certain was the mightiest steed, and lead us around a corral. In my mind, I was an epic jockey. Ben had a white pickup truck with red bench seats, which I thought was extremely cool, and he’d take me with him to go to Fred’s — a local hot dog place in Smithfield — and pick up hot dogs, and I was special because I got to go and the younger kids didn’t. He would take us to the playground and push us on the merry-go-round and the swings, and we'd drink cokes from the bottle when we came back. He would teach us how to pick pecans and get the good ones, not the rotten ones. He taught us about flowers and gardening when he took care of my grandmother's roses and chrysanthemums, and I would follow him around and watch.
And he taught me about kindness and respect. I was only a kid, and I didn’t understand racism and the dynamics of a Black man working for a wealthy white family, but I knew that I wasn’t ever allowed to treat Ben with any sass or disrespect, and wouldn’t have: he was my family.
I grew up and Ben was still the person I always wanted to see when I came home. When he got married, I was at his wedding…and when I got married, he was at the top of my list. When my grandfather died, Ben was one of his pallbearers, and my aunt hired him to work for her, so he would always have a job with our family. When Obama was elected, my mom grabbed Ben and another friend of hers and drove them to DC to tour the White House.
Ben taught me how to be kind to people and how to respect people and how to laugh and how to find the best pecans, and I loved him so much. Thank you, Ben. I hope there are palomino ponies where you are. I hope there are roses and chrysanthemums and cokes in a bottle. And I hope there's a lot of love.
Date: October 4, 2022
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Maggie Blue
Email: bluemaggie1963@gmail.com
Message: I just can’t believe the realist Uncle I know has left me just know I’ll always remember the laughs the serious talk sessions we’ve had all that you did to make sure your family was always straight and that smile. Big Sexy you will always be in my heart loving you now and forever. Punpkin Louise
Date: 1042022
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Brookie Glaspie
Email: bglaspie201@yahoo.com
Message: Ben was a great inspiration and touched the lives of everyone he met. Sharon and Shelby, you and the family are in my prayers. God bless.
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: The JCHS Class of 1966
Email: deltadoll1@yahoo.com
Message: Ella Faye and family, we share in your sorrow. We know the care you gave to Ben as his health begin to fail. May God bless and comfort you during this difficult time. We will keep you lifted in our prayer. Our deepest sympathy.
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Lee Liles and Family
Email: deltadoll1@yahoo.com
Message: A good friend is worth more than gold. Ben was a good friend to Lee Sr. whether, sitting on the porch or speaking by phone. His laughter and knowledge of events was so enjoyable to all of us . He will be missed by our entire family. May God comfort you and give you peace.
Date: 10-03-2022
Family or Deceased Name: Benjamin Bunch
Your Name: Josie Whitfield
Email: josiewhitfield555@gmail.com
Message: Big Ben I haven’t seen you in a long time but I still remember your antics on the golf course. My sincere condolences go out to your family & friends which I’m proud to same I am one. R.I.P.
Date: 1032022
Family or Deceased Name: Ben Bunch
Your Name: Myra Bradley
Email: womenthatcare4u@gmail.com
Message: Dear Sir You have always been Uncle Ben to every one that ever came through Johnston County and you will always be remembered for being that Amazing Uncle to everyone . May the Family be comforted in knowing that his work on earth is done and he has gracefully taking his rest from a job Well Done . Rest Well Uncle Ben
Date: 10/03/2022
Family or Deceased Name: Bunch Family
Your Name: Rev. Dr. Robert O'Neal, Jr.
Email: roneal@liberty.edu
Message: We at The Tabernacle can only imagine the grief and sorrow that you bear. May you find comfort during this time as God strengthens your heart with His love and peace.
With caring thoughts and prayers from Rev. Dr. Robert O’Neal, Senior Pastor and the church family of O’Neal Revival Tabernacle, 500 Richardson Rd, Zebulon NC.
Date: 10/3/22
Family or Deceased Name: Benjamin Allen Bunch
Your Name: Angela Smith Silver
Email: silverar@bellsouth.net
Message: R.I.P uncle Benjamin.
Date: 10022022
Family or Deceased Name: Mr. Ben Bunch
Your Name: Marilyn Rice
Email: mrice3@roadrunner.com
Message: Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Praying for you and your family during this difficult time. I hope you feel the power of God’s love and His presence in your lives.
I met Mr. Bunch while working at Selma Middle.
Date: 9192843926
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