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Benjamin T. Logan
Ben-ObitPicture

Ben Logan, Gays Mills, the author of the memoir “The Land Remembers” died very peacefully on Friday, September 19, 2014 in Viroqua. He also wrote Christmas Remembered, The Empty Meadow and other works.

Ben was born in Seneca in 1920. He grew up on a ridge top farm his mother called “Seldom Seen.” He spent most of his life away from Wisconsin, but carried Seldom Seen and the people who were part of it with him wherever he was.

Ben met his wife Jacqueline in Mexico City.

In 1986 Ben and Jacqueline came back to Seldom Seen to retire, where they found a growing community of young people who came to southwestern Wisconsin, moved by the beauty of the land Ben had known growing up. This community embraced Ben and Jacqueline, surrounding them with children to fuss about, music and laughter, conversation-and putting up with Ben’s corny puns.

Ben’s writing about the land had a touch of romance-but it was never sentimental. He had the hard, honest insight of someone who grew up knowing how a falling tree limb could kill a person, how the wind bit on a long winter day of working outside. There is a small valley-Ben called it Lost Valley-running southeast from the farm house at Seldom Seen. Ben often told the story of a time when he was wandering there as a boy, hearing the distant cry of a wolf, finally seeing it loping across the valley, paying him no attention-raw, solitary, majestic nature. And so the boy, who saw the last wolf through the blowing snow down in Lost Valley, is going home for the last time.

Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 26, 2014 at the Gays Mills New Community Center at Gays Mills. Friends may call after 2 p.m. on that day. The family suggests memorials to Valley Stewardship Network at www.kickapoovsn.org. Friends may view this obituary on www.thorsonfunearlhome.com.

Online condolences may be sent to info@thorsonfuneralhome.com.

The Thorson Funeral Home of Viroqua is serving the family. 1-800-657-6741.

For the complete obituary, please see the October 2, 2014 issue of the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout.