Tera Sakisat

Ben Leichtling

All-States Cremation - Wheat Ridge

Altogether<br/>4307 Vineland Road, Suite H-17-19, Orlando, FL 32811<br/>For more information, visit our website at <a href='www.altogetherfuneral.com'>www.altogetherfuneral.com</a><br/>Copyright © 2025 FPG Intermediate Holdco, LLC

Ben H. Leichtling, Ph.D., 85, died at home surrounded by family on August 15, 2025, after a brief illness. He spent time at the end doling out advice to loved ones and assigning essays about philosophy to grandkids.

Ben was born and grew up in NYC, moving from Brooklyn to the Lower East Side, and then to the area near Lincoln Center. As a young child, he enjoyed solo subway trips to Coney Island and Ebbets Field. He always found fun for himself, riding rollercoasters by the ocean and playing handball, stickball, and stoop ball in the neighborhood. Jackie Robinson was and remained his hero all his life, but he never forgave the Dodgers organization for abandoning him and NY. His parents (Roslyn and Stanley) exposed him and his four brothers (Michael, Lee, Ely, and David) to countless (mostly free) cultural events, museums, and books. He honed his life skills during Sunday afternoon “killer” anagrams with family and in lively family debates. And he learned the importance of closely observing those around him and standing up for himself and others with neighborhood bullies.

Ben graduated from Bronx High School of Science, setting him on a path as a biochemist and lifelong researcher of many topics. He earned his undergraduate degree from Clarkson College and then a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Northwestern University. His first career included directing biomedical research laboratories for 23 years at universities and teaching hospitals. Before he turned 50, Ben experienced two heart attacks within six months. In a successful effort to avoid open heart surgery, he changed his life methodically over the next several years toward health and joy. As his cardiologist said just last year, “it is a miracle that Ben is alive.” Following intensive self-study in behavioral and psychological therapies, Ben began his second career as a life coach and psychotherapist, helping others find joy and overcome emotional bullies. He saw the value in using YouTube videos to communicate his ideas long before it became the standard, and his self-published books (see http://bulliesbegone.com/bookscds) and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@BenLeichtling) brought him clients around the world. He was an excellent listener and lived his mission to stimulate people’s minds to be true to themselves. He cared deeply about his clients’ work toward self-determination, and about helping his many clients increase their courage, strength, and perseverance. Ben worked until the very end of his life, doing what brought him joy and came naturally.

Ben raised his children (treating each of his children and stepchildren with nearly six decades of unconditional love) in Denver with his wife, Donna, in a lively home full of life lessons and including backyard crops, chore lists, homemade furniture, antinuclear marches, occasional lectures, and summer excursions in a 1960’s-era VW van affectionately named Bathsheba. He was also a dedicated, active, and beloved grandfather who enjoyed playing invented games and activities with his grandchildren, including instigating giant water gun fights and spending days with them at Water World, and enjoyed exploring their thoughts about all things, while also imparting a bit of wisdom.

Ben was a lifetime learner who enjoyed studying and discussing history, ecology, spirituality, and other topics, with people he respected. He seemed to know something about any topic that came up in conversation. He was curious and interested in people and famous for striking up surprisingly deep conversations with nearly everyone he met. His family was accustomed to waiting to be seated at restaurants while he forged meaningful connections with hosts, servers, and restaurateurs. He gave advice freely to strangers, and often changed their lives for the better (as they later reported). Ben believed everyone should work hard and take care of each other, seek joy in everyday life, and find and follow what motivates and interests them. He had little tolerance for nonsense or narcissists. He loved chocolate, sushi, sea creatures, trebuchets, the beach, and conversations about how to live a fulfilling life.

He will be deeply missed by his wife, Donna; his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren Karan (Patrick Merewether) Pond (Emily and Molly) of Wheat Ridge; Jeff (Sandi) Pond (Margot, Reily, and Zőee) of Monroe, WI; Adam (Ivonne) Leichtling (Anais and Amelie) of Miami Beach; Jon (Jackie) Pond (Madison; Cara and her daughter Everleigh; and Kristina and her sons: Lawson, Tanner, Brody, Leighlan, and Koda) of Orlando; Gillian Leichtling (Susan Remmers) of Portland, OR; and Robyn (Alan) Bucknam (Sophie, Piper, and Pearl) of Wheat Ridge. He will also be missed by dear friends, his four brothers and his sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, and most everyone who was lucky enough to have met him.

In lieu of flowers, please freely share–-with anyone you care about and encounter–-any life lessons you learned from Ben; any donations may be made to Stand Up To Cancer (https://standuptocancer.org/) or Children’s Hospital Colorado (https://secure.childrenscoloradofoundation.org/)

Ben selected several quotes to bring comfort after his death:

“Don’t give in to your chicken.” Ben Leichtling

“Use your health even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

“The greatest use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.” William James

“I don’t want to be saved. I want to be spent.” Fritz Perls

“Like Schubert’s leider, our own lives are brief, but all the more beautiful because of this.” Lee Mingwei

Live full, die empty. (Unknown)

Bestow your life as if it is wealth. And your job is to create the greatest potlatch you can. What better can you do with it? (Unknown)

Late Fragment (by Raymond Carver)
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so? I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved,
to feel myself beloved on the earth.

Ashes (by Hokushi)
ashes, my burnt hut
but wonderful the cherry
blooming on my hill

Mornings at Blackwater (by Mary Oliver)
For years, every morning, I drank
From Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.

And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.

What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable,
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.

So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,

and put your lips to the world.
And live
Your life.

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyze site traffic.
<privacyLink>Privacy Policy</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Verification Successful!

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Email Tribute Validation

If Flagged Content is turned OFF, content that has been flagged will remain public until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

If Flagged Content is turned ON, content that has been flagged will be hidden until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

Hide Flagged Content

Language

Email Notifications

Are you sure you want to delete the Memorial for {name}? This action will permanently remove the memorial from the system.

Delete Memorial?

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned OFF, Memorials will automatically be published.

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned ON, Memorials will only be published if and when you approve them. Memorials can be published or deleted in the Requests center.

Memorial Request Moderation

Moderation Settings

This will permanently delete your account. The business account, and business page will not be deleted. To deactivate your account, there must be another admin user assigned to your organization.

Are you sure you want to deactivate this account?

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, the tribute moderation settings on Memorial pages will be hidden and other Keepers cannot override the tribute moderation settings specified by your organization.

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned ON, other Keepers can view and change the tribute moderation settings of the Memorial pages they manage. (Each Memorial page will default to the organization’s tribute moderation setting upon creation.) 

Override Tribute Moderation

If the AI Content Moderation is OFF, text areas containing profane language will be published.  Tributes can however be flagged and removed at any time.

If the AI Content Moderation is ON, text areas containing profane language will not be published and the user will receive an error message.

AI Content Moderation

When Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Moderation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Ben Leichtling Obituary | Altogether