Benjamin M. Blostein helped to save Kim J. Fairchild from drowning, Marilla Township, Michigan, June 6, 2019. Fairchild, 71, was fly fishing in chest waders while standing in a knee-deep section of the Big Manistee River when he concluded that he needed assistance to wade safely in the swift current to the nearby island where, Blostein, 30, commercial roofer, was fishing in a separate party. Fairchild asked Blostein for help in returning to the island. Blostein waded into the 62-degree water and grasped his hand, but Fairchild lost his footing. They separated, and the current carried Fairchild downstream into deeper water until he reached a point where, motionless, he bobbed out of reach of a fisherman at the near bank. Blostein returned to the island and ran to its downstream end, then re-entered the water, following Fairchild, whose waders had filled with water. Ultimately, Blostein swam to Fairchild, whom he grasped. Blostein struggled to tow Fairchild, who was larger than him, to the bank until the fisherman, in waist-deep water, grasped Blostein’s hand and pulled him, towing Fairchild, to safety. Blostein then helped Fairchild expel water, assisted with moving him by kayak to a safer location, and ran barefoot to meet responding authorities to direct them to the remote scene. Fairchild recovered after spending one night in a hospital. Blostein was cold but not injured.
90579-10195Obituary
Ben was born April 3, 1989 & died March 1, 2024. Throughout his short life, Ben worked many jobs & reached many people. He worked as a landscaper, cell phone tower inspector, roofer, & most recently, an iron worker.
Ben was an archetypal figure, the type that looms large in the American imagination: a cowboy, a tough guy, an adventurer. He was a bonafide hero, awarded a Carnegie Medal for saving a man from drowning. Ben loved the great outdoors & working with his hands. He could hunt, fish, build, & cultivate. He traveled widely and made friends across language barriers. He loved animals, especially his dog Jackson, and wouldn’t hesitate to rescue a stray kitten. He believed in freedom & independence; he hated injustice & hierarchies. An argument with Ben was a revelation in frustration: he was often too smart to be wrong, & occasionally too stubborn to admit it.
Ben was a man of extremes & contradictions, a complex, beautiful individual. Always willing to lend a hand, Ben struggled to accept help for himself. Ben loved & loathed to equal depths; he was quick to laugh & quick to anger; like a fire, his regard could both warm & burn. We gather today to remember his light, in all these aspects; to hold & to cherish him as a whole person, loved beyond measure.
He is survived by his mother Barbara Oppewall; father Joel Blostein; sisters Susan Watson and Freida Blostein; and his beloved dog Jackson.