Robert Benvenuto (Ben) Franchi

Born November 11, 1934 in Cumberland, Maryland. His father, Domenic Francis and mother Maria Anunciata Giusti moved to Chicago along with their three children, Gloria, May and Ben. He attended St. Columbkille grammar school, St. Mel High School and graduated from De Paul University with a degree in Business Economics. He served in the United States Army at Fort Rucker in Alabama.

Ben joined Motorola just prior to his military service and returned when he had completed his obligation. In his 34 year career, he worked in various financial positions. His favorite was being the Equipment Controller as Motorola was the equipment sponsor in support of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. After the Olympics, he returned to the San Diego office and finished his career, taking early retirement at the age of 55.

After Ben retired, he volunteered for the San Diego Police Department with the Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP). He served in this capacity for 24 years. He most enjoyed doing school safety checks as well as You Are Not Alone (YANA) visits. These were an effort to spend time with seniors living by themselves. He met some very dear people, both fellow officers and YANAs.

Ben and Glenna, his wife of more than 60 years traveled extensively both here and abroad until eight years ago when his CMT symptoms appeared.

His grandchildren Matt and Mia added another loving dimension to his life. He was very proud of his daughter Dawn and loved her very much. With his son Eric, he shared a lifelong passion for baseball.