Benjamin English was always a tinkerer.
Benjamin English, a machinist at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard known for his love of tinkering and reading, died in a car crash in Berwick on Christmas Eve. He was 19. Photo courtesy of Heather English
At 5, he’d take apart his Nerf guns and put them back together. Later, he couldn’t cut the grass without first checking the lawnmower and making repairs. In high school, his interests led him to study precision manufacturing.
English, 19, died on Christmas Eve morning when he lost control of the car he was driving on Long Swamp Road in Berwick and crashed into trees. He died at the scene. Police believe the crash was caused by speeding.
He was in Berwick to celebrate Christmas with his mother. His death came as a shock to family and friends who say he was just settling into a career he enjoyed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
“Ben was a daredevil, he was a risk-taker. He wasn’t always compliant,” said his mother, Heather English. “To see him come into his own and find something he loved and a job where he was appreciated for how smart and capable he was, was so heartwarming.”
Benjamin English grew up in Sanford, where he lived with his father, David. He spent three years in the precision manufacturing program at the Sanford Regional Technical Center before graduating from Sanford High School in 2022. He later attended Southern Maine Community College and started working as an outside machinist at the shipyard.
His mother said he was a homebody who preferred to spend time with family and family friends. He enjoyed playing video games, bonding with his pets and going on fishing trips. He adored and looked up to his older brother Zachary, she said.
Benjamin English, 19, died in a single-vehicle crash Sunday. He graduated from Sanford High School in 2022. Photo courtesy of Heather English
“He could be shy at first, but once he got to know people, he was the loudest voice in the room. He knew no such thing as an inside voice,” Heather English said. “He had this infectious laugh. He was always trying to make people smile.”
He was an avid reader who had a tendency to find a corner and lose himself in a book – usually fantasy or science fiction, but he’d read just about anything, his mother said.
During his junior year English class, his teacher, Sally Quarles, came to count on him to lead discussions about reading assignments. He always provided great insight, she said.
“Once he would let his guard down and really be himself, his laughter would just fill the room,” she said.
Despite his enthusiasm for reading, English seemed to do better in non-traditional classroom settings, according to his teachers.
Rossie Kearson, a special education teacher, said English often came to the resource room for help completing his schoolwork. They would have long conversations about the importance of hard work and how to prepare for life after high school. When English joined the tennis team that Kearson coached, the teen always put in his best effort at practice and matches, even if he wasn’t the best player, Kearson said.
“He was a good-natured kid,” he said. “I used to call Ben my knucklehead because sometimes he’d do knucklehead type things.”
English found his place – and his calling – when he enrolled in the precision manufacturing program to learn how to be a machinist. His instructor, Joseph Bolduc, said English was curious and willing to do extra work on the side, including volunteering for a nonprofit food truck at Sanford Mainers games. In 2022, he earned a gold medal in precision manufacturing technology at the SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference in Bangor.
After graduating, he worked for a business in Eliot and took college classes before landing his job at the shipyard this year. He told his mom that he loved it and could see himself working there until he retired.
Like many teenagers, English would sometimes act like he was too cool to hang out with his mom, said Elizabeth White, a longtime family friend who watched him grow up. But just a few weeks ago, he tagged along with her and his mom to a Taylor Swift event at the Happy Wheels Skate Center in Westbrook. He spent the whole night by his mom’s side, holding her hand while they skated.
“He tried to play tough and silly and never take anything seriously, but when push came to shove, he was mama’s little boy,” White said.
English’s family will celebrate his life Saturday with a service at Carll, Heald and Black Funeral Home in Sanford. Then they’ll head to a local bowling alley because, “Ben would not want us to sit around and be sad,” Heather English said.
She’ll bring along the custom bowling ball her son was supposed to receive as a Christmas gift.
“People can bowl with his ball and feel close to him,” she said.
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