Born in San Francisco, California, Ben was the precocious first son of Benjamin Reyes Marcelo and Mildred High Marcelo.
A Vietnam War veteran, Ben served in the U.S. Army Airborne Special Forces, earning the Bronze Star Medal for Heroism in Ground Combat. His love of his country was boundless, matched only by his devotion to his family and for the rest of his life, his character and his grit would epitomize the phrase “courage under fire.”
Following his honorable discharge from the military, he worked as a field engineer for Magnavox and earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University — all while simultaneously raising a family. His engineering career took him on a multi-decade circuit around the globe: to the frozen fjords of Norway, to apartheid South Africa, to communist China, to Pakistani deserts where he camped with nomadic chieftains. He finished his career as an Information Technology Manager for United Parcel Service where a younger and hipper generation of engineers endeared themselves to him.
Ben spent most of his free time outside, wading along the rivers of Oregon with a fly rod in hand, adrift on a bass boat before dawn, chasing bird dogs through the brush and chuckling among the brotherhood of his beloved shooting buddies.
Ben is survived by wife; his daughters, Courtney Norton and Alexandra Exarcos, both of Atlanta, Georgia; and his brother Gregory Marcelo of Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
He is also survived by four spirited little men who will carry on their Grandpa’s legacy in ways that are unique to each: Benjamin Norton (age 8), Oliver Exarcos (age 5), Hudson Norton (age 3), Sebastian Exarcos (age 3). Uttering these names is how Ben chose to spend his final earthly breaths.
There will not be another man like him.
A memorial service will be held at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 675 Riverside Road, Roswell, Georgia, 30075 on January 20 at 10:30 am.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Independence Fund (www.IndependenceFund.org) for wounded veterans.
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