Former mayor left mark on many
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 10, 2015 1:46 PM
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Benjamin Charles Strickland
By all accounts from those who knew him, Benjamin Strickland was a man who loved his community and his family, and could switch from making someone burst into uproarious laughter to comforting someone in their darkest hours.
Strickland, former mayor of Goldsboro, died at 74 years old on Saturday -- but he lives in the minds of the people who knew him, and their memories of Strickland are as vibrant as his life.
"I got to work with him for a very long time. We've pretty much been everywhere together," said Benjamin Strickland Jr., Strickland's son. "There was a time we went to Arlington -- that's pretty high up there on my list of favorite memories with him. And, you know, he never missed anything of ours growing up. He was always at all of his children's ball games or functions."
But there is a little known fact about Strickland to those who might not have been close with him -- he loved boxer shorts.
"He just loved life. He loved walking around in boxer shorts, and he loved boxer shorts that had crazy messages on them. That's something probably not a whole lot of people know about him," Ben Strickland said. "He had an unbelievable sense of humor. He made everybody laugh, and I don't think there's a person we know that's been to the house that hasn't seen him in boxer shorts and no shirt."
Willard Herring, who worked with the Goldsboro Fire Department from 1958 to 1999, knew Strickland well and worked under him while Strickland was mayor.
"He was one of the best mayors Goldsboro ever had," Herring said. "If he had something on his mind, he was straightforward and would tell you what was going on. But he would also listen. If I had any concerns, or if anybody else had any concerns, he would listen to them and then take it through the proper channels like the City Council and stuff to try and work it out."
Strickland served as mayor of Goldsboro from 1973-1979, and also served as president of the Goldsboro Jaycees and the Goldsboro Kiwanis Club. He was a member of the Golden K Kiwanis Club, where he received his 40-year Legion of Honor Award in October 2015. He was also a member of the Wayne Masonic Lodge No. 112 A.F. & A.M. and the Wayne Shrine Club.
"My dad loved this community," Strickland Jr. said. "He had Parkinson's (disease) and that's often a long disease that certainly took a toll on him and our family. He was really active up until about six months ago -- he was driving back and forth to work, doing everything he could."
Strickland's death was peaceful, his son said, and happened exactly how he would have wanted it to happen.
"He had an unbelievable peace," Strickland Jr. said. "He went in his sleep. He just went to sleep and slipped off. There was no pain, and that's exactly how he would have wanted it. And the people at Kitty Askins (Hospice Center) were great. They were incredible in how they took care of him."
Strickland also served as president of Seymour Funeral Home, and had a 55-year-long career in funeral services.
Brian Taylor, a co-worker of Strickland's for approximately 30 years, said the funeral home has been feeling the loss of a man who helped so many other families in Goldsboro through their own losses.
"The emotions have been a roller coaster for sure," Taylor said. "He actually was a partner with my father before he and I worked together. He certainly saw me grow up and we got to the point where we took care of each other."
Now, Taylor said, the struggle is in figuring out how to continue on without Strickland.
"Ben enjoyed life. He knew how to make people laugh, and he knew how to comfort people and lighten the mood in their darkest times," Taylor said. "Emotions have certainly been high here at the funeral home, and we're figuring out how we can best carry on his legacy without him."
Strickland was also a good friend, an entertainer and is still well-loved by all who knew him.
"As a personal friend, he was one of the best you could have," Herring said. "He would laugh and joke with you, you could sit and just talk to him, and when it was time to get serious he would be serious and take care of things. Ben was just Ben. He was one of those people where what you saw was what you got."
And just as Strickland took care of others throughout his life, his last words to his son were still concerned with making sure a caretaker was available for his family and the community.
"Yeah, I remember (what his last words to me were). Just give me a second," Ben Strickland said, clearing his throat and falling silent for a time. "He said, 'Take care of your mom, and look out for the rest of them.' He was a very special man. There are very few people like him."