Benjamin Van Dao was a natural leader, sociable, analytical, and pleasant. He was undoubtedly an individual who enjoyed life’s challenges. Ben always sought the scene where the action was occurring. He was always able to provide amusing repartee to his many friends and acquaintances, offering a seemingly endless supply of quips, anecdotes, jokes, and stories.
Ben was born on December 18, 1977 in Waterloo, Iowa at Allen Memorial Hospital. His parents were Michael and Dianne Dao of Honolulu, Hawaii and Denise Dao of Cedar Falls, Iowa. He was raised to be accepting of others and to employ a strong personal work ethic. Ben enjoyed taking walks with his mom and riding around the island of Hawaii with his dad.
Blessed with a balanced attitude, Ben was able to relate well to others. His occasional role as family mediator gave him the opportunity to ease tense situations when they occurred. He was raised in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls/Parkersbug, Iowa area. He had four sisters and two brothers. Ben was the oldest child and was looked up to by all of his siblings.
Ben enjoyed spending time with family. Ben's grandparents were Donna and Melvin Youngblut, Larry and Janelle Jacobsen. Ben loved to bring all his family together to socialize, play games and record home videos.
Ben was an outgoing and animated child. Some of his favorite pastimes while growing up were playing the trumpet and viola, playing cards, chess and anything related to the computer. Ben was a very active child and also enjoyed taking care of other people's cats and dogs. Ben also tried being a paperboy when he was young. He started on the hardest day, Sunday, which meant heavy papers and early delivery. He quit half way through his first day.
Ben spent a lot of time on the Parkersburg acreage, and was very creative in figuring out ways to entertain himself and his siblings. As a child he enjoyed the company of his pet dogs-Lacy, Candy, and Scuffy and his guinea pig. Ben also loved to travel with his Aunt Deb and go to Adventureland with his mom and dad.
Ben was known to most people as a focused, logical, open-minded, driven and honest individual. He satisfied his curious nature by utilizing a hands-on approach to learning. He was good with facts and had an excellent memory. He attended Parkersburg High School. During high school, Ben was interested in science, music and speech. He enjoyed singing in the choir, band, playing football and was also the President of his junior class and a member of the yearbook committee.
Those close to him were well aware of his open, practical style of communication and relaxed approach to life in general. He was uncomplicated and straightforward in his relationships, which allowed him to accept people for who they were. One of his best friends during high school was Nate Lester. Ben and Nate liked to listen to music and drive around in his car, an Olds 98. He also loved taking Ryan, Jackie, and Lindsey out to eat. When Ben and his friends got together, they would hang out in Parkersburg and eat subs and ice cream at the Falcon's Nest. He detasseled corn when he was 13 and at 16 years of age, was employed by Ron Weber, signing people onto Prodigy internet. He also worked at a restaurant in Dike called BriDans. At 17 years of age, Ben moved to Hawaii to live with his dad. Here he graduated high school. This is also where he met his best friend, Marianne. They were roommates for many years in Hawaii and also in Vegas. They enjoyed going to casinos and eating at different restaurants. Marianne was a big help in getting Ben’s business started.
Ben met his partner in life, John Siazon, in 2001. They first met by chatting on an AOL website. Their first date was on Valentine's Day at the Gold Coast Casino buffet. The chemistry was instant. They spent many hours talking on the phone. They both knew this relationship was special. Ben brought much love, excitement and humor to the relationship. The couple shared their home with their dog, Chilli. Ben loved Chilli as if he were his child. Ben and John were even willing to spend thousands of dollars in medical expenses for Chilli. Ben and John enjoyed their life in Las Vegas, surrounded by many loving and loyal friends.
Ben was a computer whiz that could think quickly on his feet and think beyond standard norms when it came to resolving issues. Ben was a hard working individual who tackled new and different challenges. Ben's first full time job was for Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii, working as a computer technician. Ben then went on to start his own a computer consultant business, which he was very proud of. Ben achieved Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer status and was a Cisco Certified Network Associate.
Ben enjoyed his leisure time by taking part in various hobbies, such as flying model planes with his brother Ryan. He pursued his passion for planes by getting his pilot’s license. A big role model in Ben’s life was Wayne Stringer, a retired 747 airline pilot. Ben considered him to be a second father. Wayne and Ben spent a lot of time together talking about planes.
One of Ben’s favorite pastimes was playing computer games. It was not uncommon for John to find Ben playing Final Fantasy until 3 o’clock in the morning. Ben loved and enjoyed good food. Some of his favorites were Starbuck's coffee, cheesecake, carrot cake, and Vietnamese beef soup- "Pho". Friends and family could always count on Ben to show them the best restaurants in town. Ben loved keeping up on the news and watching science fiction movies, especially Star Trek. He enjoyed music including The Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carrey, Donna Summers, Earth Wind and Fire and Diana Ross.
Ben Dao joined his heavenly Father on May 14, 2011 after a 2 ½ year battle with cancer. He had Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor, a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. He passed away peacefully in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 33. He is survived by his partner of 10 years, John, his parents, siblings and his dog, Chilli. Services were handled by Palm Mortuary, Eastern Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ben's wishes are for his ashes to be spread over the ocean in Hawaii.
He enjoyed his life to the fullest and will be greatly missed by all who knew him dearly. His smile will never be forgotten.
Arrangements under the direction of Palm Eastern Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18