Obituary

Funeral services for Ben Reyes III, 39, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Sacred Heart Catholic Church with the Rev. Reynaldo Reyes, pastor, and the Rev. Gerard Kenney, pastor of St. John Neumans of Lubbock, officiating. Burial, with full military honors, will be in Center Plains Cemetery in Cotton Center by Wood-Dunning Funeral Home. Mr. Reyes died 8:58 a.m. Monday, March 7, 2005, in the Veterans Hospital in Amarillo. He was born Nov. 10, 1965, in Olton. He graduated from Plainview High School in 1984 and entered the U.S. Army in February 1987. During his stint in the Army he did several tours which included Fort Lewis, Wash., two tours at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Fort Stewart, Ga., and Fort Irwin, Calif., plus numerous deployments, one in particular, a six-month rotation to Mt. Siani, Egypt. During his 14 years of service he received numerous awards and badges which include: Army Commendation Medal (7th) Award; Army Achievement Medal (9th Award); Army Good Conduct Medal (4th Award); National Defense Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal; Non-commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 2; Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2nd Award); Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with automatic rifle bar; Expert Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Grenade Bar; Expert Field Medical Badge; Driver and Mechanic Badge with Driver Bar and Aviation Badge. His military schools included: EMT Instruction; Airload Planners Course; Field Sanitation Course; Hearing Conservation Course; Combat Life Savers Course; Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course and Primary Leadership Development Course. He obtained the rank of staff sergeant/SSG. He married Elva Aranda on July 16, 1987, in Plainview. Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Marissa Reyes and Nicole Reyes, both of San Antonio; one son, Eric Reyes of San Antonio; two brothers, Ricky Reyes and Roland Reyes, both of Plainview; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Angie and Henry Galvan and Rebecca and Bisente Ybarra Jr., all of Plainview; his mother and father, Nino and Maria Reyes of Plainview, his grandmother, Tomasa Reyes of Plainview; and nieces and nephews, John-Mikel and Kristen Galvan, Ricky Jr. and Sandi Reyes, Lexie, Angel and Steven Ybarra and Jason Reyes.