Kern County CA Archives Obituaries.....Reagen, Bennie Ray January 26, 2006
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
K T bluewolf@onemain.com January 29, 2006, 10:28 pm

The Bakersfield Californian
Reagen, Bennie Ray    
 
Bennie Ray Reagen 
Services: Sat., Feb. 4, 2:00 p.m. 

Bennie Ray Reagen, 79, of Bakersfield, formerly of Ventura and Oak View, died 
peacefully in the comfort of his home on January 26, 2006. He was born April 
15, 1926, in Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma, to Jack Russell Reagen and Cora 
Carrie Emmons Reagen. He was the 12th of 13 children, nine of whom survived 
their first two years. The family migrated to Delano in 1941 and settled 
there. Ben attended Delano High School and was drafted into the U. S. Army in 
1944.He served in Belgium, Holland, and Germany in the Battle of the Bulge. He 
also served as a guard at the Nuremberg trials. He was injured in Germany and 
spent more than 17 months recuperating in Army hospitals in Bethesda, 
Maryland, and San Francisco. He received a Purple Heart for his injuries. He 
was so proud to have served his country. Back in civilian life, he held jobs 
around the Central Valley and ended up near his mom and several siblings in 
Ventura, where he got a job as a roughneck. He rose quickly through the ranks 
at California Production Service to vice president, working in Ventura and 
Long Beach. When CPS established ECI, Ben took charge and ran it until 
starting his own company, Reagen's Vacuum Truck Service, Inc., in 1972. He 
also started Reagen Sales and Rentals, Inc., and ran both businesses until his 
retirement in 1990. He and Wanda moved back to Bakersfield in 1998. Ben was a 
real wheeler dealer and delighted in finding trucks or tanks in Texas, 
Oklahoma, or California, shipping them to Ventura, and refurbishing them to 
his specifications. He was also involved in leasing land and drilling wells 
for himself. He was a member of the Petroleum Production Pioneers, a 
distinguished group of men who set the standards in the local oil business. 
Before retirement and after, Ben's family and friends were his life. All 
occasions big or small called for a barbecue, and all barbecues meant Bennie's 
chili beans, steak, and garlic bread, relished and dreamed about. It was all 
about the best ingredients and good prices, even if it meant a two-hour drive 
to a particular meat market. And Bennie wanted to make sure every family 
member knew how to make his chili beans just the right way. This is just one 
of the many ways Bennie endeared himself to his grandkids, who loved him so 
much. He is survived by his wife and companion of 27 years, Wanda of 
Bakersfield; sister, Faye Jackson of Fillmore; daughters, Dayna Crow of 
Bakersfield and Ventura and Danielle Reagen of Ventura; stepchildren, Alicia 
Shay of Ojai, Julann Sueyres of Ojai, Michael Beechly of Bakersfield; 
grandchildren, David Crow and Michael Crow of Bakersfield, Paul Crow of Santa 
Barbara, Jeff Crow of Montague; Chandra Beechly and Jonathan Beechly of 
Bakersfield; Lisa Sueyres of Davis; Austin Sueyres of Santa Barbara; Brian and 
Dustin Shay of Bountiful, Utah; great- grandchildren, Zachary Crow and Emily 
Crow of Bakersfield; 14 nieces and nephews and 23 great- nieces and nephews. 
He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers, Hurshel, Leo, Leon, Jack, 
Mart, Tommy, Manuel, and James; his sisters, Tommy Lee, Lavaca, and Hazel; his 
first wife, Jeanice (Jan) Reynolds; and his great-grandson, Andrew Brandon 
Crow; and so very many whom he called friend. A memorial service will be held 
on Saturday, February 4, 2006, at 2:00 p.m., at Ted Mayr Loma Vista Chapel, 
Ventura. Doughty-Calhoun-OMeara Funeral Directors 

Legacy.com
 
Published in the Bakersfield Californian on 1/29/2006. 


Additional Comments:
Volunteer submission - No relation to deceased
No other information available from submitter.
Obituaries
http://www.legacy.com/bakersfield/LegacyHome.asp


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/kern/obits/r/reagen1895gob.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/

File size: 4.3 Kb