I remember Ben would often wear a Superman shirt. Be it working out, or cleaning the church building, or partaking in Breakfast Burrito Awareness month.  Ben was always that Superman to me often hiding as Clark Kent. He was always fun, engaging, empassioned, and always there to help when asked...and I'm guessing often when not asked. 

Those were his special powers I suppose. And now the world feels less super without him. 

Until we meet again. 

I am so stunned to hear of the loss of Ben Sweat, and my heart is full as I think of his family. Ben and I worked together on The Scroll campus newspaper during our freshman year at Ricks College. We lived on the same side of campus and walked home from the Scroll offices together many times – I remember a lot of very cold late night conversations walking home after a deadline. He was the kind of guy who, without making a big weird deal out of it, went out of his way to make sure girls made it safely home at night. He was really serious and mature about his reporting assignments for the paper. I remember overhearing him interviewing a local politician on one of the office phones, while we other reporters listened from the other side of a cubicle and made faces like “who is this professional grownup person?” He was a loyal friend who noticed and included everyone. Once I made an unkind joke about another girl, and instead of laughing he said “You should get to know her. She’s actually pretty cool.” When I took a ballroom dance class, only to discover I was a terrible dancer, he coached me and danced as my partner for my final test, and helped me get an A. One time he planned a big group date for two apartments, where we made pizza and bowled on a miniature bowling alley he had built in his hallway. Just a bunch of random memories, but I hope this helps his kids know the kind of person their dad was at that time in his life.

A few years ago we ran into each other at church in Virginia, where he was visiting Aprilanne’s sisters who lived in my ward. It was such a pleasure to catch up after all these years, meet Aprilanne, and see the great man he had turned out to be. His warm interest in other people, his curiosity and enthusiasm for all kinds of topics, the light in his eye as he spoke about his family… it was just great to see. I’m sure he leaves a giant hole in so many hearts. 

I owe so much to Ben.  He was my first professional manager and mentor. He gave me my first job at Idealab, helped me get my second at Photokharma, and went to bat for me so that he could hire me to my third job at Loot Crate. Constantly along the way, he always had time to teach me and share insights with me. He was an amazing, brilliant and fun loving guy, and had such a big heart. VERY MUCH thanks to him, I have a career that is fulfilling, motivating, and helps support my little family. 

Thanks Ben, your influence and impact has been deep and long-lasting in my life. And I know I’m just one of many! Sending endless love and gratitude to you and the whole Sweat family. 

My wife and I first met Ben and Aprilanne when visiting Chicago in 2006, while trying to decide whether to attend grad school there. We felt an immediate strong connection to both of them, and they were so generous with their time and advice during that weekend. They were one of the biggest factors in our decision to move there for school.

Fast forward to spring 2007 - Ben and Aprilanne were in the middle of moving from Chicago to L.A., and Ben and I were changing the brakes on his VW Jetta while the movers packed up their house. We got the wheels off the car and realized that because VW has slightly insane engineers, in a misguided attempt to be "different" they've used Allen bolts for the brakes. My set of metric wrenches were useless. As we drove to an Autozone in pretty run-down south-side neighborhood with bars on all the windows, Ben maintained his usual good cheer and ability to roll with the punches. I don't remember what we talked about on that drive but I remember we shared some laughs despite the waning daylight and the stress of moving his family. When we got to the store, we took some good-natured ribbing from guys hanging out in the parking lot, wondering why on earth two white boys would be stopping into that particular location on that day. My only regret is that we didn't cap off our adventure by stopping in at the White Castle across the street.

Ben, Aprilanne and their young daughter spent that night at our place, and we enjoyed celebrating Easter with them the next day. Over the next several weeks, Ben would often fly out for the weekend to finish up his MBA classes, and he'd crash at our place. I have many fond memories of our discussions during late-night drives to and from Midway Airport.

We were fortunate to have Ben spend a day with our family this last spring when he came to Seattle for a work trip. Although we didn't see each other often, it was always so easy to slip back into that familiar good-friend groove with him. It felt like no time had passed at all whenever we spoke on the phone or saw each other. I'll miss his easy laugh, his kind and gentle manner, and his eyes with their spark of intelligence and how they revealed a restless mind that was always so full of ideas and dreams. I'll forever remember his eagerness to share and riff on those ideas, and his generous ability to make my ideas better. I'll miss you, friend. Our prayers and thoughts are with Aprilanne and their children as we mourn with them. May the Lord grant you peace and comfort as you grieve.