Benjamin Robert Baran

Benjamin Robert Baran, loving husband, father and grandfather, was an inspiration to his family and friends. Ben died on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at the age of 86. Ben's life had several parts. He was born Robert Charles Baran on December 22, 1935, in Racine, Wisconsin to Stanley Baran and Clara Jagla. He grew up with his mom and dad and 3 brothers Marty, Stan, and Frank (Mel). His family owned and ran a bar in Racine, and he went to a Catholic boarding school. Some of the things he did while at school included playing basketball in the under 6-foot league, ping-pong, bowling, pool, drama, photography, and yearbook. He managed the bowling alley at boarding school and was in just about every page of the yearbook when he was part of producing it. Even later in life he was a pretty good at pool, bowling, and ping-pong. He also learned a lot of card games. He was fond of bridge, pinochle, and poker - but preferred 5 card draw and 7 card stud to Texas hold-em, which he didn't particularly like.

Next, he joined the Franciscan order and became a priest, changing his name to Benjamin Robert Baran. He took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which in his own way he maintained his whole life. He spent almost 20 years in the order, earning doctoral degrees in Theology and visiting and living in many places around the world including Jerusalem and Rome. He spoke and read several languages and had an appreciation for different peoples and cultures. He expected that he would be in the order his whole life.

Then along came Mary. Ben got permission to leave the order and married the love of his life, Mary Kraemer on June 22, 1973. They had their first child Rob in Dubuque Iowa and then moved to Albuquerque in 1975 for Ben's job at the University of Albuquerque. In Albuquerque they had their remaining 3 children Clare, Jake and Jon and made a stable and supportive home for their family. They lived there for essentially the rest of their lives. He was thoughtful and sweet and would do little things like get Mary chocolates (turtles) every valentines. But he

wasn't particularly about grand gestures, he talked about showing love as an everyday thing and was more practical about the way he showed he cared. Every day when he or Mary would go off to work, they would kiss, and the whole family would have group hugs or "squeeze outs."

Ben had a passion for teaching. He taught at the University of Albuquerque until it closed in 1986 and later taught Bible study classes at various churches throughout Albuquerque. He taught as long as he could, well into his 80s and up until dementia made it too difficult. Ben also sold life insurance for several years to help support his family.

Ben was well known, loved and respected by those he knew and taught. He made an incredible impact on the lives of people and his wealth of knowledge is irreplaceable. He had a quick mind, an even faster smile, and a fun sense of humor. Ben had a presence that is difficult to describe. He was exceptionally smart, stubborn, kind, loving, stern, silly, joyous, reserved, outgoing - a complex set of qualities and personality that is unique, difficult to put into words, and impossible to replicate. Ben was well-read including subjects such as philosophy, world religions, history, as well as science fiction and even enjoyed books on popular science like Hawkings or Brian Greene. He was a natural at mathematics, doing detailed calculations in his head. He also knew the definition of just about any word you could throw at him and could usually tell you the Greek or Latin roots. He was difficult to beat at Jeopardy. He loved to discuss a variety of topics with the people in his life and when he spoke, people listened. No one wanted to miss a gem of knowledge or witty quip of which Ben was known to impart.

In contrast to maintaining a fierce intellectual curiosity, Ben enjoyed a simple life filled with family and friends. He was happy to sit in his chair watching TV shows with the family, a Lobos basketball game, a Cubs baseball game, or (perhaps his favorite) a Green Bay Packers game. Friends and family were often over at the

Baran house, playing games, eating food (which he was likely to give you whether you asked for it or not), or just hanging out. While there you might have joined him in a shot and a beer.

Ben loved animals - cats, birds, dogs and animals of all kinds and had many pets throughout his life. While in the order, he had several talking birds, which he and his friends enjoyed teaching profanity in different languages. Animals like him too, and his calm, balanced, and self-assured presence typically put them at ease. He had a respect for all living things including plants. He had a green thumb and would talk to his plants.

He deeply loved his family and friends and wanted the best for them. He raised his children trying to guide them to their path in life, but he also showed love by acceptance - letting people be who they were. I remember to anecdotes exemplifying this: 1) I asked what was the point of our parakeet - it could act as a guard like our dog, what did it do. He answered that the bird didn't have to "do" anything, it just had to be. 2) In a school assignment, I was asked to define how one shows love and to get a parent's answer along with mine. He answered that love is "letting be" - allowing a person to be themselves. He also said love isn't two halves coming together to make a whole, it is two whole people coming together as a couple - partners. You don't need someone to complete you, and that kind of love is between two people who respect each other as equals. That's the kind of love he and Mary had. He also told his daughter Clare to never downplay her strength and intelligence as a woman. He said she didn't need a prince charming to sweep her off her feet, she was capable of standing on her own.

Ben is survived by three of his children Robert Baran, Clare Steward and her husband Javis, and Jake (Stanley) Baran and his wife Sarah. He also loved his daughter-in-law Caitlin Padilla and all of his grandchildren, Javis, Jocelyn, Alaina,

James and Sophia. He also leaves behind many beloved nieces and nephews. Ben was preceded in death by his wife Mary; his parents and his three brothers: Stanley, Marty and Mel; and his son Jonathan. Private family services will be held at a later date and time.