Luther Benjamin Franklin, Sr.

A memorial service celebrating the life of Luther Benjamin “Ben” Franklin, Sr., age 79, of Columbus, will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, at Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home with Presiding Elder Aimee Anderson officiating. Friends may call from 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home, 179 Granville Street in Newark. Ben’s urn will be placed on his father’s grave at Welsh Hills Cemetery in Granville at a later date.

Luther was born September 3, 1946 in Newark, Ohio to the late Hiawatha Lester Franklin, Sr. and the late Frances (Peterson) Franklin and was the eighth of nine children. He grew up attending Trinity A.M.E. Church. Ben attended Woodside Elementary, Roosevelt and Central Junior High, and graduated from Newark Senior High School in 1966. While there, Ben was elected President of the 1965 Junior class and also was a member of the football team. Ben was a veteran of the United States Navy. He enjoyed spending hours at the library reading newspapers from all over.

He is survived by his sister, Frances G. Franklin; many nieces and nephews; a son, Ben, Jr.; grandchildren, Raheem and Chandre; and several great-grandsons.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Hiawatha Lester Franklin, Jr., Ralph Louis Franklin, and Richard Louis Franklin; sisters, JoAnn M. Jackson, Beatrice Mae Franklin, and Elizabeth P. Smith.

Criss Wagner Hoskinson Funeral Home is honored to care for Ben and his family.