Benjamin Sommers

Benjamin Charles Sommers Benjamin came into this world in the early hours of November 30, 1988. He was a bright light from that moment until he passed on September 24, 2014. He gave an immeasurable amount of love and he was loved by all. The day Ben was born; our family and our hearts were complete. Ben spent his entire youth growing up in typical Billings, Montana fashion. He attended schools at Boulder Elementary, Will James Junior High and graduated from Billings West High in May 2007. He played baseball, football, and basketball, but he found his love in golf and snowboarding. Ben put his creative energies in painting pictures, arranging his home space and strumming his guitar. Music was solace to him. No matter the activity or event, Ben found his greatest joy in his relationships. He treasured time with his friends beyond anything else. The venue or activity was not the important thing to Ben; who was in attendance and whom he could connect with, was all that mattered to Ben and he connected with so many. Ben loved golf. His Dad said that he loved his sweet swing . We enjoyed many family golf outings with Ben. He was always game for a father son match, an outing with his entire family, or to play a quick nine with his buddies. He was competitive on the golf course, but mainly with himself. It was a time and place that he could leave the rest of the world behind. When he was 16, he experienced the perfect hole….an ace on the third hole at Hilands Golf course. Ben earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance at MSU, graduating in December 2011. He had some great and interesting friends and living quarters during his time at MSU, none more legendary than the “blue house”. His blue house buddies became some of his closest friends. Ben thoroughly enjoyed being with his friends and he had many of them, he seemed to bring up a new name every week. We had trouble keeping up with them all, and it caused us to have many a good laugh over it all. He had a dry wit, gentle nature, was full of joy, he truly enjoyed family gatherings and he never needed to be the center of attention. His sweet smile was something everyone embraced. Ben was a very hard worker; he took much pride in anything he set out to do. He learned the art of sandwich making at the Pickle Barrel, customer service at Red Robin, how to groom a golf course at Yellowstone Country Club, landscaping a yard and driving a big truck at Spring Creek, collecting a bad debt at Credit Bureau of Bozeman and finally landing his career job in the mortgage department at Western Security Bank. He was well-liked by his fellow employees at the bank. They were family. He loved the pranks that made their way around the office and he was always up for an out of office activity with his work mates after hours. Ben had more nicknames than we knew – Bennie, B-Bah, Ben Man, Benjammin, Benito, Bennie Ha Ha, and Sombomb among others. The sign of a well-loved person is the number of terms of endearment used to identify them. Ben had them in spades. He was loved and is survived by his parents, Chuck and JoLynn Sommers, his sister Betsy, soon-to-be brother-in-law Gabriel Means, grandfather, John Bohlinger, aunts and uncles: Susan Gaines and Charlie Oyama, Linda and Bill Conway, Sandy and Bill Scarborough, Jim and Teri Sommers, Kathy and Michael Walton, Jeanne Cox and Bruce Baty, Jan and Doug Osborne, Mark and Kirsten Bohlinger, Nicholas and Kami Bohlinger, John and Megan Bohlinger. He is also survived by many cousins, all who had a special place in Ben's heart. Ben was welcomed into heaven by his grandparents, Bette Bohlinger, Adele and Virgil Sommers, cousin August Bohlinger and many others. Vigil Services for Ben will be 7:00 p.m. Monday, September 29 with Memorial Mass 11 a.m. Tuesday, both at St. Pius X Catholic Church. Burial of ashes will be in Mountview Cemetery.