Benjamin Noah Duchin

Benjamin Noah Duchin was born March 17, 1992, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his parents moved to Atlanta, Georgia, later that year and in 1994 to Seattle, Washington, where he lived most of his life.

Ben was a sensitive, intelligent, compassionate, loving, fun-loving, and adventuresome child and young adult. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a twinkle in his eye. Ben excelled academically and was a talented musician with the ability to “play by ear.” He was an avid reader and cinema buff and a big Banksy fan. He loved animals, owned several cats, and foster-cared for rescue dogs.

Ben loved to travel, meet people, and explore new places and cuisines. He especially enjoyed annual family vacations to the New Jersey and South Carolina seashores together with East Coast relatives. He was an avid and knowledgeable sports fan, and as a child dreamed of playing basketball with the Seattle Sonics. He was a devoted Seahawks 12th man and a perennially optimistic Mariners fan. Ben played Ultimate frisbee in high school and in his twenties, Ben ran four marathon races.

Ben attended the Learning Tree Montessori, Seattle Country Day School, and the Northwest School. He studied economics at Whitman College and graduated in 2014. After college, Ben worked briefly in the banking industry and for business, but realized his passion was to be a healthcare provider, aspiring to be a nurse practitioner. He took science prerequisites at Central Washington University, became a Certified Nursing Assistant, and in 2022 earned a Doctoral degree in Nursing Practice (DNP) in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program at Seattle University and began work at SeaMar Community Health Centers. His goal was to provide behavioral health care to individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. Ben was dedicated to providing trauma-informed care, working with diverse patient populations, social and racial equity, and working with disadvantaged populations.

Despite all his wonderful characteristics and accomplishments, Ben suffered from near lifelong anxiety and sleep disturbance that took an immeasurable and increasing toll on his health and wellbeing. Ben died unexpectedly on May 22, 2024, from an unintentional overdose of prescription medications that he was taking for these conditions.

Ben is survived by his sister, Emma Duchin, his mother, Katherine Brown, his father, Jeffrey Duchin, his grandmother Roberta Duchin, his aunt, Toni Duchin, his uncle Christopher Brown, and cousins Emily Brown, Tom Brown, Max Rothfeld, and Jake Rothfeld.

Donations in Ben’s memory can be made to organizations serving people with behavioral health disorders and/or substance use disorders, those experiencing homelessness, organizations working to achieve racial equity and address racism and other forms of discrimination, and animal welfare organizations.

Examples include:

Equal Justice Initiative (https://eji.org/)

Evergreen Treatment Services (https://www.evergreentreatment.org/)

Project Heal (https://www.theprojectheal.org/)

Recovery Café (https://recoverycafe.org/)

SeaMar Community Health Centers (https://www.seamar.org/)

Seattle Children’s Crisis Care Clinic (https://www.seattlechildrens.org/clinics/psychiatry-and-behavioral-medicine/services/behavioral-health-crisis-care-clinic/)

The Humane Society (National or local)

YouthCare (https://youthcare.org/)