“Everyone was a friend; he would engage with people of all ages. We miss Ben very much and still struggle to understand why this happened,” said Dave Terrill of Newbury, father of Ben. “He made a big impact on a lot of people, and we are so proud of the many things that he did accomplish in his lifetime.” Ben Terrill, age 16, of Newbury Township, died unexpectedly on Oct. 26, 2020.
“It is very difficult to understand why Ben was so frustrated with his life,” Dave Terrill continues. “He was an amazing young man.”
Ben attended Newbury Schools from kindergarten through ninth grade and knew everyone in the school. In the fall of 2020, he started at West G High School as a sophomore where he immediately joined the marching band playing the sousaphone. Ben loved all types of sports; he played goalie in the Newbury recreation soccer league and joined Newbury’s Varsity Basketball Team. He was looking forward to trying out for the West G Varsity Basketball Team. Ben enjoyed helping others and was quick to volunteer when needed. He would look forward, each year, to working the Burton-Middlefield Rotary pancake breakfasts.
“Since a young age,” says Terrill, “Ben hoped to serve in the armed forces.” In the summer of 2020, he attended a month-long Marine Military Academy in Texas, a mini boot camp where participants were given physical and mental challenges to prepare them to one-day serve in the armed forces. Ben made squad leader at the camp and was recognized as one of two people in his platoon for outstanding performance.
Ben Terrill loved the outdoors and was an excellent scout. In 2018, he attended the Scouting World Jamboree in West Virginia where he met scouts from all over the world. In Newbury, he served as the Rockies Patrol Leader and as Senior Patrol leader for Troop 99. Ben was a Life Scout, and his goals were to complete his Eagle Project as well as a couple more required merit badges.
In search of an Eagle Scout project, Ben initiated discussions with the Newbury Oberland Park Board. To obtain the Eagle Scout rank, one must spearhead a beneficial community project which will in turn enhance the scout’s leadership skills. After speaking with several other organizations, Ben decided to build bocci ball courts for Newbury. He then met with Jim Stefancin and members of the Park Board to iron out the details. Ben was in process of getting final approval from the District Eagle Scout Project coordinator when his life ended. In memory of Ben, and to finish his Eagle Scout project, two bocci ball courts have been built at Oberland Park next to the Volleyball courts.
Ben had already laid out the groundwork for the project, had done the research, drawn the construction plans and was estimating costs. Keith Corkwell, former scoutmaster of Troop 99, took this information and worked with the Jim Stefancin to bring the project to completion. The team from the Newbury Township Garage removed about 12 inches of soil from the site, laid drainage pipe and about 3 to 4 inches of gravel for the base.
Scouts from Troop 99 along with some members of Burton-Middlefield Rotary and others worked together four-and-a-half Saturdays throughout June and July 2021. The scouts logged more than 310 hours on this project, not to mention the time invested by all the others.
Tasks included leveling gravel, constructing walls with 6-by-6-inch by 14-foot treated lumber timbers, drilling holes, driving rebar through the timbers, moving and leveling crushed limestone over the gravel, spreading asphalt grindings and dirt around the perimeter, then leveling and seeding the area around the courts.
Many of the materials for the project were donated by Geauga County businesses and Newbury Township. In addition to the material donation, the project incurred approximately $4,400 in costs for timbers and rebar. To date Keith has received about $2,000 in donations to help defray these costs but is expecting more.
“It was very moving to have the Troop, Rotary and community members step up to complete this project,” shares Terrill. “The end result looks great, and I am sure Ben was watching over. I do wish he had been able to work on it himself. He would have done a terrific job and learned a lot in the process.”
Everyone is invited to use the bocci ball courts at Oberland park in Newbury. Over the past several years bocci ball has increased in popularity so it is anticipated that the courts will get a lot of use. Players are asked to bring their own bocci balls.
