Whitefish Bay salesman Benjamin B. Fagan died Dec. 22 in an automobile accident. He was 80.
Born in Asheville, N.C., he came to Milwaukee in 1925 and graduated from Washington High School in 1942.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as crew chief for a transport airplane in the China-Burma-India theater, flying military supplies and personnel over the Himalayan Mountains.
During one of these missions, his airplane caught fire and he and his crew parachuted out. According to his wife, Bernice (nee Barnow), one of the crew lost his parachute, and Fagan cut up his own to serve as a blanket for the man. After they were rescued, he kept that piece of the parachute as a souvenir and showed it to his grandson’s third grade class in a presentation about his war experiences.
He worked for the M. W. Kasch Co., a toy wholesaler, for 55 years, as buyer and salesman. “He enjoyed seeing children, he enjoyed toys,” said Bernice. Moreover, he donated toys to such programs as Toys For Tots. “He always wanted to make sure children had toys, especially poor children,” his wife said.
After retiring from Kasch, he and Bernice formed their own firm, B&B Associates, buying and selling watches wholesale.
He was a member of Congregation Sinai and its brotherhood, and of B’nai B’rith. He was an avid golfer and “a top bowler many years ago,” said his wife.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughter Deborah (Richard Booth) Fagan of Milwaukee; son Steven (Debra Rosen) Fagan of New York City; brother-in-law Gene Frank of Milwaukee; and two grandchildren.
Rabbi David Cohen officiated at funeral services on Dec. 26. Burial was in Beth Hamedrosh Hagodel Cemetery.
The family would appreciate memorial contributions to Congregation Sinai or Adoption Resources of Wisconsin, 6682 W. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee WI 58214.
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