BEREA, Ohio — For 22 years, Ben Caskey was known for his positive outlook on life, selflessness and his incredible sense of humor.
His mom Barb Caskey says at just 11 days old, Ben had to have open heart surgery. He would go on to have another at 8 months old and another by the time he was six.
“And that one was the hardest one because he was aware of what was going on at six years old. But besides that, we were so fortunate with him that he was not hospitalized a lot. He was able to live his life and play baseball,” said Barb.
Despite the hardships and limitations of his condition heterotaxy syndrome, Ben's father Tim said he always had a smile on his face.
“He was my hero and he inspired me. After he was born, we found out how his medical condition would be, it just made me look at everything differently,” said Tim.
He made the most of his life and he even got a chance to be interviewed by Maureen Kyle on 3News with the Kids in Flight organization back in 2008.
Sadly, Ben passed away on Oct. 1, 2021, after going into cardiac arrest while attending class at Baldwin Wallace University.
Barb says her son Ben always had the biggest smile and always had unconditional kindness to whoever he came into contact with.
“One of his fraternity brothers, Mateo, who graduated this past Saturday said he was very close with Ben. I asked Mateo if he would share a special memory he had and he just told me that he gave the greatest hugs. So, I think whenever they would get together, they would give each other a bro hug and it was just so special to Mateo and Ben.”
Although they grieve for their son, both Tim and Barb Caskey are determined to keep his legacy of resilience alive. And they’re doing it through a scholarship in Ben’s honor.
“This is the least we can do. It’s keeping his name going with this scholarship and it’s given something positive to focus on. We still have our days. We miss him tremendously, but this is giving us something positive to focus on in his name."
The only requirement to apply is an essay on how they've overcome a challenging time in their lives.
“Even though Ben is not here any longer on earth, we know that with his legacy, we can still help people.”
Tim’s reunited 80’s band, “Serious Nature”, will be putting on a show this Saturday at the Winchester in Lakewood at 8 p.m. There will be food, raffle prizes, and lots of fun. They hope the community will come to celebrate the life and legacy of their beloved son.
Anyone interested in donating to the Ben Caskey Memorial Scholarship can click HERE.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on 3News on May 9, 2023.