August 31

At St. Michael’s, we spend a great deal of time, at every opportunity possible, talking about values. At the beginning of the year, kindness and compassion are underscored, and that theme carries through our year. In May of 2013, the graduating class gave to St Michael’s a beautiful Ben’s Bells mural, which graces the wall outside of our Student Center. The plaque beside it proclaims, “St. Michael’s has the courage to be kind.” Among the Class of 2013 was a young man who stood as a constant reminder of both courage and kindness. He brought his classmates along within him in living into those key values. That student was Ben Faust. Ben modeled tenacity, courage, kindness, and a “never give up” attitude. For his entire life, Ben lived with Marfan’s Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that compromises the integrity of all connective tissues of the body. And yet he seemed determined not to let it slow him down. Ben participated as fully as possible in all activities at St. Michael’s and was much beloved by his classmates and the school community. Sadly, on Tuesday we learned that Ben Faust had died in Houston, where he had been hospitalized following major heart surgery. With this loss from our community, the sadness runs deep and is particularly and profoundly felt by his classmates from the Class of 2013. Ben would have been a senior this year at The Gregory School.

Kindness and courage go hand in hand. They remain core values of our school community. And how fitting that we are reminded of this by a Tucson symbol, Ben’s Bells, which now will forever remind us of another courageous Ben, who always modeled for us that St. Michael’s has the courage to BE KIND. Thank you, Michael and Laura, for sharing Ben with us, and thank you, Ben, for all you taught us in how to live life with courage and grace. You will be missed.

Margaret Moore

Head of School