Ben Bost, 87, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 5, 2018, surrounded by family at Cottage in the Meadow. Ben was born in the small cotton mill town of Concord, NC on July 23, 1930 to Lonnie and Bonnie Bost. As a young boy, Benny loved to help his grandma out around the house, read books and action comics; he loved drawing and building model airplanes. He would shine shoes to make spending money for Saturday matinees with his buddies. He attended Concord High School where he entered local drawing contests and competed in baseball, football and boxing. Ben graduated in 1948 with ambitions of becoming an artist and seeing the world, and he did just that seeing all the Big Cities in 46 states and most of Europe and the South Pacific.
Soon after high school, Ben set off for Hollywood, where he landed a job at Disney working on cartoon short films for a few years until he joined the Air Force during the Korean War. He served in the 730th Bomb Squadron, 452nd bombing wing, 5th Air Force, as a tail gunner on a B-26 bomber. For his service, he received a Presidential Citation for fighting The Battle of the Iron Triangle. During the Cold War, Ben served with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 36th Artillery group of the 7th Army in Germany as a machine gunner. While in the military, he used his artistic ability to paint nose art on Air Force bombers. He would illustrate iconic buildings and landscapes of Europe. He also had his own weekly comic strip in the Stars and Stripes military newspaper. One of the highlights of his military career was being named the artist for President Kennedy’s trip to the Berlin Wall, where he attended special events and drew cartoons of the Presidents stay. During his two stints in the military, Ben was able to travel the world and meet many interesting people.
After his service, Ben moved to New York City where he worked as a freelance artist during the day, and at night, he took art lessons from Burne Hogarth, the great cartoonist who drew the Tarzan comic books and comic strips. He eventually landed a job in Manhattan, NY drawing cartoons, many of which were published in national magazines and newspapers.
Ben later settled in Los Angeles where he worked as an insurance adjuster for the State of California. At the age of 40, he was still a confirmed bachelor. He only kept what he could fit into a suitcase, until he met his best buddie’s sister, Louise Miller of Yakima, WA. Bachelorhood went out the window. They married and had their first child, a daughter they named Wendy, in Yakima, WA. They later moved to Portland, OR, where Ben worked as a manager at Standard Insurance and shortly afterward, they had a second child, a son they named Matthew. Ben and Louise were married for 6 years and remained friends for a lifetime. He met his second wife Mary Peterson in Portland and they moved to Grand Coulee, WA, which he liked to call “the end of the road” jokingly, where he did cartooning from a studio in his house and they lived for 18 years.
Ben was a great DAD who did a wonderful job of keeping the magic of Santa alive and well during Christmas, taking his kids on adventures through downtown Portland, drawing cartoons at request, snack dinners, popcorn and scary movies, and he loved taking his kids on day trip picnics to the Oregon Coast; Cannon Beach was his favorite.
Getting older and wanting to see more of his children and grandchildren, Ben moved to Yakima, WA in 2002. He enjoyed drawing cartoons for his grandchildren, reading, walking, catching a flick, participating in Veterans’ parades and spending the holidays with family and friends.
“What a big interesting world we live in and I was gonna see it.” - Ben Bost
“Live a life of knowledge and adventure and it will be worth all the gold in the world.” - Ben Bost
Ben is survived by daughter Wendy Erickson (Donnie), grandson Tyler and great grandsons Liam, Ashton; granddaughter Abby Lucatero (Henri) and great granddaughter Tara; son Matt Bost (Tracey), grandchildren Logan, Alex, Ellie and Sadie; sister Carol Barnhardt of North Carolina; nephew Steven Barnhardt; nieces Cindy Starke and Lisa Sparnell along with numerous great nieces and great nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lonnie and Bonnie Bost; brother-in-law Floyd (Coot) Barnhardt; best buddy Sherman Nystrom, and his two favorite in-laws, Larry and Linnea Luth.
Special thanks to the staff at Cottage in the Meadow and to Keith and Keith for their expertise.
There will be a graveside service at West Hills Memorial Park on Friday, “Good Friday,” March 30, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.
To share a memory of Ben, please visit www.keithandkeith.com.
