Obituary for Benjamin James Gaston Mattax
Benjamin James Gaston Mattax
October 25, 1991 – March 15, 2021
The many of us who love and cherish Ben Mattax lost pieces of our hearts on March 15, 2021, when Ben died in Carbondale, Colorado. The world lost another good and courageous soul to the disease of addiction. Ben’s mother, father, sister, and brother send a message of love and
support to others who navigate the path of addiction.
Benjamin James Gaston Mattax made the world more joyful when he was born on October 25, 1991, in Springfield, Missouri, to Dr. Nancy Anne Gaston Mattax and Dr. James Byron Mattax, Jr. He arrived to join his nineteen-month-old sister Katherine Elizabeth Gaston Mattax. His brother, Samuel Robert Gaston Mattax, was born four years later and the family was complete.
Springfield, nestled in the hills of the Ozarks, was Ben’s home for eighteen years. He attended Greenwood Laboratory School from kindergarten through his graduation in 2010. Ben was a keen student, a competitive lacrosse player, and above all, a valued and trusted friend.
Throughout his early years, Ben was an integral part of his extended family’s travels and gatherings. He was a cousin-in-arms to his cousins by blood and his cousins by friendship and fortunate circumstance. We treasure the memories of those light-filled days with Ben. After high school, Ben traded the Ozark hills for the Rocky Mountains and moved to Boulder,
Colorado, for school at the University of Colorado.
Ben was in his element in the mountains and on the water. He delighted in being on a river with a fly rod in his hands or with a paddle in his grip. He was an accomplished fly fisherman, wading the rivers of the Roaring Fork Valley, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Ozarks. Ben possessed a
sharp mind, and he mastered several trades. When not on a river, Ben often could be found in a kitchen or beside a barbeque pit. He is remembered for the generous and soulful meals he served to family and friends. Ben’s core was sweet and caring. He was a blessing to the communities where he lived and worked.
In Ben’s recovery community, not only did he master the grill and his famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, he nurtured the hearts and minds of newcomers to the program. It was through these circumstances that he blossomed into a guide both on and off the river. Ben was fiercely
protective, quick to lend a helping hand, and showed up for others in their time of need. He built relationships as mentor and mentee that enhanced each community of which he was a part. Ben was blessed by the guidance of multiple AA sponsors and the kinship of recovery communities in Port Townsend, Washington, Dallas, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Carbondale, Colorado. The friends who love Ben and enriched his life are scattered across the country and world. His family is grateful for each of these connections.
Family who grieve the loss of Ben include his parents Nancy Mattax and Jim Mattax of Springfield, Missouri, his sister Kate Mattax and her husband Devin Holewinski of Seattle, Washington, and his brother Sam Mattax of New York City, New York; Nancy’s partner Dr.
Chapman Olive and his sons George and Henry Olive and Henry’s wife Alex Olive and their daughter Lane; Jim’s partner Leah Cook and her daughter and son Kyra and Ryan Cook; Ben’s grandmother Suetta Gaston; Ben’s aunts and uncles Colene Gaston and Roger Montgomery,
Robert and Hollis Gaston, James Gaston, Barbara Roger, Tom Mattax, Bob Mattax, and Jeff Mattax; Ben’s cousins Anne Montgomery and Derek Wetzel, Harrison Gaston and Eryn
Spellman, Baxter Gaston, Peter Montgomery, Will and Presley Montgomery, Linzy Gaston, Leah Gaston, David Mattax, and Caroline Mattax. As the family mourns Ben, we take comfort in fond memories of Ben with the grandparents, uncle, and aunt who have gone before: Dr. Ben
Gaston, J.B. and Dorothy Mattax, and Benjie and Cindy Gaston.
The family looks forward to sharing remembrances of Ben at a celebration of his life in Carbondale, Colorado, on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Memorial donations may be made at
http://www.gunnarproject.org/ and h ttps://awayout.org/donate/. Arrangements are under the care of Farnum-Holt Funeral Home in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, we will hold Ben’s family in the light, and we will keep Ben in our hearts. We will see in our mind’s eye Ben’s sun-freckled face, wide grin, muscular arms, and skilled hands as he stands in a mountain river gently cradling a glistening, glorious trout before slipping it under the water to make its way in the stream.
October 25, 1991 – March 15, 2021
The many of us who love and cherish Ben Mattax lost pieces of our hearts on March 15, 2021, when Ben died in Carbondale, Colorado. The world lost another good and courageous soul to the disease of addiction. Ben’s mother, father, sister, and brother send a message of love and
support to others who navigate the path of addiction.
Benjamin James Gaston Mattax made the world more joyful when he was born on October 25, 1991, in Springfield, Missouri, to Dr. Nancy Anne Gaston Mattax and Dr. James Byron Mattax, Jr. He arrived to join his nineteen-month-old sister Katherine Elizabeth Gaston Mattax. His brother, Samuel Robert Gaston Mattax, was born four years later and the family was complete.
Springfield, nestled in the hills of the Ozarks, was Ben’s home for eighteen years. He attended Greenwood Laboratory School from kindergarten through his graduation in 2010. Ben was a keen student, a competitive lacrosse player, and above all, a valued and trusted friend.
Throughout his early years, Ben was an integral part of his extended family’s travels and gatherings. He was a cousin-in-arms to his cousins by blood and his cousins by friendship and fortunate circumstance. We treasure the memories of those light-filled days with Ben. After high school, Ben traded the Ozark hills for the Rocky Mountains and moved to Boulder,
Colorado, for school at the University of Colorado.
Ben was in his element in the mountains and on the water. He delighted in being on a river with a fly rod in his hands or with a paddle in his grip. He was an accomplished fly fisherman, wading the rivers of the Roaring Fork Valley, the Olympic Peninsula, and the Ozarks. Ben possessed a
sharp mind, and he mastered several trades. When not on a river, Ben often could be found in a kitchen or beside a barbeque pit. He is remembered for the generous and soulful meals he served to family and friends. Ben’s core was sweet and caring. He was a blessing to the communities where he lived and worked.
In Ben’s recovery community, not only did he master the grill and his famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, he nurtured the hearts and minds of newcomers to the program. It was through these circumstances that he blossomed into a guide both on and off the river. Ben was fiercely
protective, quick to lend a helping hand, and showed up for others in their time of need. He built relationships as mentor and mentee that enhanced each community of which he was a part. Ben was blessed by the guidance of multiple AA sponsors and the kinship of recovery communities in Port Townsend, Washington, Dallas, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Carbondale, Colorado. The friends who love Ben and enriched his life are scattered across the country and world. His family is grateful for each of these connections.
Family who grieve the loss of Ben include his parents Nancy Mattax and Jim Mattax of Springfield, Missouri, his sister Kate Mattax and her husband Devin Holewinski of Seattle, Washington, and his brother Sam Mattax of New York City, New York; Nancy’s partner Dr.
Chapman Olive and his sons George and Henry Olive and Henry’s wife Alex Olive and their daughter Lane; Jim’s partner Leah Cook and her daughter and son Kyra and Ryan Cook; Ben’s grandmother Suetta Gaston; Ben’s aunts and uncles Colene Gaston and Roger Montgomery,
Robert and Hollis Gaston, James Gaston, Barbara Roger, Tom Mattax, Bob Mattax, and Jeff Mattax; Ben’s cousins Anne Montgomery and Derek Wetzel, Harrison Gaston and Eryn
Spellman, Baxter Gaston, Peter Montgomery, Will and Presley Montgomery, Linzy Gaston, Leah Gaston, David Mattax, and Caroline Mattax. As the family mourns Ben, we take comfort in fond memories of Ben with the grandparents, uncle, and aunt who have gone before: Dr. Ben
Gaston, J.B. and Dorothy Mattax, and Benjie and Cindy Gaston.
The family looks forward to sharing remembrances of Ben at a celebration of his life in Carbondale, Colorado, on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Memorial donations may be made at
http://www.gunnarproject.org/ and h ttps://awayout.org/donate/. Arrangements are under the care of Farnum-Holt Funeral Home in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, we will hold Ben’s family in the light, and we will keep Ben in our hearts. We will see in our mind’s eye Ben’s sun-freckled face, wide grin, muscular arms, and skilled hands as he stands in a mountain river gently cradling a glistening, glorious trout before slipping it under the water to make its way in the stream.