Benjamin Lawrence Heinley

Benjamin Lawrence Heinley, age 78, passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 16, 2025.

He was born on April 23, 1947, to Benjamin and Jacqueline Heinley in Fordyce, Arkansas, and grew up in Houston Texas with his younger siblings Brenda and Steve.

He used to love the steam locomotives that thundered past his back yard as a child, and this love of trains stuck with him for the rest of his life.

He was an athlete and played both basketball and football while in high school and enlisted in the US Air Force after graduation. He trained as a mechanic for radar sets on the F-4 Phantom and after training at Lowry Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, he served during the Vietnam war at Homestead Air Force base in Pensacola Florida, as well as Kunsan Air Force base in South Korea.

During his time at Lowry, he made his way up the mountains to Central City and met a young Carol Powe who was working at a candy store there. He said later that he knew the first time he saw her beautiful blue eyes that she was the one for him. They were married on December 22, 1968, and were together for 56 years until Carol’s passing in 2024.

Ben worked for the Colorado Highway Department, several engineering firms as a draftsman for electrical systems, and finished his career working for the National Park Service, helping to draft blueprints to repair and restore historic buildings throughout the National Park System.

In addition to his work, he was a builder, carpenter, electrician, plumber, landscaper and car mechanic. There was virtually nothing in or around the house that he couldn’t repair or rebuild. Of course, there was always a non-zero risk of touching a live electrical wire with the pliers or wracking his knuckles when turning a wrench under the hood of the car, and a sudden random swear word made it hard for his kids to keep a straight face while “helping” dad with the job.

He was a master of helping with dioramas and school science projects and an avid modeler, focusing largely on model railroads. He was an insatiable reader and researcher and living in Colorado he knew an extraordinary amount about Colorado railroads, mining towns, and jeep roads, which he loved to travel with Carol and his kids.

Many summer weekends were spent driving his jeep up dusty trails in the Rocky Mountains to enjoy a picnic somewhere and perhaps take some photographs of wildflowers.

His hobbies also included photography, and he would often head out of the house to take pictures of steam locomotives, old cottonwood trees, and the wildlife at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

Ben is survived by his son Scott and his wife Tomomi, and his daughter Sarah and her husband Ryan, as well as four grandchildren whom he loved with all his heart.

Ben’s funeral service with be held at Ft. Logan Cemetery on December 12 at 2:00 PM. Please gather at the RED staging area about 15 minutes before. The service will be live streamed for those who cannot make it to Colorado. We will have a link a few days before the service.

Ben would want to be celebrated and not mourned, so please wear comfortable and colorful clothes to celebrate his life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Mending Faces or to the Cat Care Society in Lakewood Colorado. They will be taking in his two beloved Cats Smudge and Lady.