Benjamin F. Troxell III

Benjamin Fraser Troxel III

Family and many friends are mourning the passing of Benjamin Fraser Troxel III who departed this life 31 May 2022.  Benjamin was born September 12, 1940 in Evanston, IL and attended The Blake School in Hopkins, MN, on a full scholarship. Graduating in 1958 in the top 3 per cent of his class, he lettered in three sports and was awarded the state’s Most Valuable Wrestler Trophy.  At Princeton University, again on full academic scholarship, he served as treasurer of Dial Lodge and graduated in 1962.  While at Princeton he met Kathlyn Coyle Morrison of Cranford, NJ and they married in Princeton Chapel during that summer.

Ben was a deeply spiritual and generous committed Christian born to Episcopalian parents.  While employed by AETNA right out of college as Pension Manager in Detroit, Ben served on the Board of Trustees for Christian Athletes.  Later with Prudential in West Bloomfield Hills, MI, he served on the vestry at Advent Episcopal Church.  After relocating to South Florida in the late 70s, Kathy and Ben met Pastor George Callahan of New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Pompano Beach where Ben was asked to assume the position of Permanently Ordained Senior Elder.  In a church active in the recovery community, Ben managed seminars, including with Dr. M Scott Peck and John Bradshaw.

Benjamin was a seeker and furthered his theological studies, which led to his conversion into the Roman Catholic Church. He served on the boards of several councils, including the National Board of Via De Cristo, the Koinonia Council of St. Joan of Arc Parish, and the advisory board of the Snow Foundation.  Ben also served on the Home Owners Board of Directors in his communities of West Bloomfield Hills and Deer Creek in Deerfield Beach.  

Ben was employed by Smith Barney in 1978 and retired in 2017.  After his retirement, he continued a life of service and leadership in the church and the community.  His most recent initiative was organizing and coordinating schools, hospitals and law enforcement in order to provide more timely and urgent rehabilitative intervention to overdosed patients.

Benjamin will be remembered as a man of principle, a deep thinker, a brilliant and charismatic public speaker, a servant leader, and a man devoted to his family and his faith. He is survived by his beloved wife Kathlyn of sixty years, children Benjamin Fraser Troxell IV, Mary Stephan Troxell, son-in-law Alfred Baker Lewis, daughter-in-law Maya Bailey Troxell, grandson Benny Francis Troxell, in-laws Stephanie D’Alessandro, David D’Alessandro, Russell Ball, Mary Ball, Scott Morrison, and Hilda Morrison, as well as his 11 nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Saint Joan of Arc Care Ministry:  http://stjoan.org/wp/ministries/care-ministry

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