Benjamin Katz succumbed to COVID-19 on Sunday, December 6, 2020. He passed away exactly 30 days after his wife, Carol Beilenson Katz, of nearly 60 years.

Ben was the eldest of three sons born to Samuel and Mollie (Ladimsky) Katz. He attended Soldan High School and graduated from University City High School. After having graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Ben worked for Sigma Chemical, McDonnell-Douglas and Emerson Electric. Later in life, he earned his real estate license and assisted Carol with her highly successful residential real estate business.  

Ben met the love of his life, Carol, at Mizzou. Ben preferred an Alpha Epsilon Pi party to studying, but Carol told him that if he wanted to go out with her, he’d have to meet her at the library. His college GPA significantly improved after having met Carol. They married in 1961.

Travel was one of Ben’s passions and he and his family spent many weekends camping in the Ozarks. With their trusty trailer, they also visited Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and the Grand Canyon. Ben made his first trip abroad in 1976 with Carol, their kids & his mother-in-law, Leona. Carol & he continued to travel with friends for many years after. Traveling also enabled Ben to pursue his passion for photography. Using family pictures that spanned the decades, “Uncle Ben” also compiled the treasured Haggadah our family uses every Passover. 

Ben was the family handyman and was often called upon to assemble, erect &/or install. No job was too small. Ben loved studying history and ancestry, and he enjoyed movies and music of various genres. Like Carol, Ben learned he had an artistic side and worked in charcoal and stained glass. He was also the family driving instructor and, ironically, the worst driver. He had an abiding love of food and was famous for his chicken soup, barbecued ribs and challah.

More than anything, Ben loved family and was renowned for getting on the ground to play with small children and to just act plain goofy. He was known to say, “In the end, family is all you’ve got.”

Ben is survived by his children, Bradley (Tracey Conrad-) Katz and Allison Katz-Edler, his grandchildren, Samuel (Elise Butterfield) Katz, Jonah Katz, Zev Katz and Jake Edler; brothers Gary (Diana) Katz and Joel (Adrienne Volenik) Katz, brother-in-law Norton (Benita) Beilenson, and sisters-in-law Barbara Oxenhandler and Valerie Beilenson.  

Berger Memorial Service