Bernard "Ben" Nabors

Bernard "Ben" Haywood Nabors, age 51 of Warren, died Tuesday, November 12, 2013 in Shelby, Michigan surrounded by his loving family. Ben was born May 11, 1962 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, son of the late Eugene and Rosa (nee: Lucas) Nabors. Ben was married to the love of his life Shirley, with whom they raised two beautiful children, Ryan and Amanda. Ben's greatest gift in this life was his family, the greatest treasures of his heart!Those who knew Ben knew what an avid hunter and fisherman he was. While he enjoyed both, hunting was very much his passion, especially deer hunting. He loved going up north, whether it was hunting or spending time in Port Austin off of the water. Wherever there was water (especially up north), Ben was not far away! He especially loved being with his dogs Lexi and Toby, whether up north or at home-they were his constant companions!Ben very much enjoyed 'oldies' music. Even when he traveled up north, it was not country music, but 'oldies' that he would listen to. His favorite era of music was the 1970's. The Rolling Stones, Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, and The Eagles were among his favorite singers. He even dressed up once like the band Kiss, with all the face paint and regalia! Another of Ben's loves was his love of cars. He especially enjoyed his 1969 Camaro and his Novas. The classics are what he particularly enjoyed and indulged in. While many people overuse the cliche, with Ben it was 100% true, "He was loved by everyone and didn't have an enemy in the world." He was fair to all, both in his relationships with people, and especially at work at the Department of Public Works in Warren. Benny, as he was called, was fair to everyone he came across and believed in keeping things simple and cutting out unnecessary stuff that did not matter to the task at hand. He was a wonderful boss and made sure that all of his staff was content and treated very well. He also followed this philosophy in life as well, "Keep it simple and don't complicate things." Those closest to him knew he was a great problem solver no matter what the task was in life or in work. Some of his greatest conversations took place up north around a campfire, where he would solve some of the world's greatest problems the world has over a few minutes or hours of conversation around the warm campfire. Many of the nation's politicians of all parties could have learned a lot just by listening to Ben around the campfire and would have come away more knowledgeable and wiser for it. It was not all serious talk up north though. Those who were privaleged to be up north with Ben got to see his infamous impersonations of various people. Everyone always went away laughing!Ben's greatest gift though was his family. Those closest to him would say that he was family oriented to the highest degree. He lived for Shirley, Ryan, and Amanda and would do anything for them! They looked up to him and now he looks down on them. The beautiful night sky that he admired so many times when he was up north with all its millions of stars just gained one more star that shines a little brighter than the rest. While it may seem like Ben is millions of miles away like the stars he looked at in the night sky, he is nearer than ever to the three stars of his life, Shirley, Ryan, and Amanda, with whom he could not love more.Bernard "Ben" Haywood Nabors is survived by his beloved wife Shirley. He is the loving father to Ryan and Amanda and the dearest brother of Jack (Evelyn) Welch, Rose (Chuck) Santini, and Ruth (Rob) Tippery. Visitation for Ben will be Thursday, November 14, 2013 from 3:00-9:00pm at the D.S. Temrowski & Sons Funeral Home, 30009 Hoover Road at Common (12 ½ Mile Road) in Warren. Visitation continues 10:00am Friday at the funeral home until the time of the service at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Ben's children's college fund. Please share memories of Ben at his memory book.