Ben Friedel lost his battle with cancer and went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Monday, July 1, 2014 at the age of 73. He was born July 23, 1940 in Ft. Worth, Texas and grew up in Weimar, Texas and graduated in the first class of Bishop Forest High School in Schulenberg in 1959 where he was active in the FFA.Ben was preceded in death by his parents Anton Fritz Friedel and Helen Pavlik, step father, Herman “Lefty” Pavlik, brothers Louis “Buddy” Friedel and Joseph “Jody” Friedel.
He is survived by his wife, the love of his life, Allene Friedel, a daughter Kimberly Friedel Wersterfer and son in law Keith, grandchildren Ashley Wersterfer Erben and husband Cody, Taylor Wersterfer and Cole Wersterfer, two great grandsons Tyler and Conor Erben. A sister, Irene Oncken and husband Norwin, sister in law, Monica Friedel, sister in law Nancy Ponthieux and husband Steve and many nieces and nephews that were all very special to him.Ben and Allene were married for 45 years. Ben met Allene while working at Brooks Field National Bank and finally convinced her to go on a date and eventually marry him. He worked at Kelly Air Force Base as an electronic technician and then began framing houses. They started their own company Custom Homes by Ben and Allene where they worked together for 40 years. Ben was an active member of First United Methodist Church and enjoyed volunteering his time for various repairs, chaired the Trustees Committee and was a member of the Emmaus Community. He spent most of his retirement traveling in their RV and visiting State Parks and sightseeing throughout the United States and Canada. Working on old cars was a favorite past time that he was passionate about with his brother Jody. He enjoyed making stained glass, wooden crosses, fishing and gardening. Ben could waltz and polka with the best and always had fun dancing with his wife and daughter to share his love of music. He will be fondly remembered by his grandchildren as “PaPa”.
A celebration of Ben’s life will be held at First United Methodist Church New Braunfels on Monday, July 7, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church – REACH Project, 572 W. San Antonio Street, New Braunfels, Texas 78130 or Hope Hospice of New Braunfels. Arrangements under the direction of Zoeller Funeral Home, New Braunfels, TX.
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