Benjamin O. Gardiner died of heart failure at age 88 on January 23, 2010.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ben served in the U.S. Army in France during World War II, fighting with General Patton in the Battle of the Bulge. He completed his education with a major in history at Harvard University just before going off to war. His early professional experiences from that era included covering the arts for the Boston Herald.

In the early 1960s, Ben underwent a conversion which led him to the Holy Cross Monastery for a brief stay, where he had the time to take a look at life in a deeper way. Later he moved to Arizona and started a “contemplative order” called the Community of St Matthew. He ran a retreat house in Florence, Arizona from 1968 to 1974 and worked with prisoners during that time. Ben has inspired and helped many people in recovery from alcoholism these past 58 years.

In the 1970s, Ben moved to San Francisco and became a community organizer and gay rights activist. He says, I got acquainted with a lot of people and worked to protect gay people and their rights. [1] He joined gay democratic clubs and organizations, such as the Butterfly Brigade, a safety campaign, whose members would carry whistles and blow them if they witnessed homophobic abuse. He worked tirelessly on Harvey Milk's election campaigns. In 1982 he chaired the first public meeting on AIDS in San Francisco, and in 1985 he founded AIDSInfoBBS (Bulletin Board System) Database <http://aidsinfobbs.org/>, the first AIDS information bulletin board in the nation and the oldest public database in the world. Today, his AIDS-Info database is hosted at the University of California/San Francisco. During the 1980s and 1990s, he traveled throughout the world to conferences related to AIDS research and prevention in places as diverse as China, Eastern Europe and South Africa.

A well regarded parliamentarian, Ben was an active member of the San Francisco Democratic Club (The Harvey Milk Democratic Club) and served as the President of the Stonewall Democratic Club. In addition to his work on behalf of the Democratic Party, working in the District Office of Senator Milton Marks, and for AIDS prevention, he volunteered for various community organizations, including the Playwrights Center, and the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association. In addition to being a ubiquitous presence in the Duboce Triangle and the Castro for these years in San Francisco, Ben was also the fiscal agent for QueerNet from 1991 until it was moved under the Online Policy Group in 2000. [2]

Ben's work in the community led him to learn web design and filmmaking. He created the web site for the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, <www.dtna.org>, and has been an active member of SF Cutters for the past ten years. He has also made video movies of his old family house as well as one called “Who the Hell is Jordan Lee?” — about an introverted gay acquaintance who created an organization for gay men over 40. His passion for the arts lead him to open a mail-order book store called the Sibylline of Books. The store is named after the Sibyl of Cumaea who, according to Ben's website, was one really smart bookseller who knew how to deliver the goods. He has produced oral histories and films for his extended family under the auspices of his company, Sibylline Productions, leaving an extensive library for the family. Ben enjoyed an acting career that spanned almost 50 years on stage, in television and film, and was a member in good standing of the Screen Actors Guild. He made memorable appearances in extra roles in movies such as North by Northwest (1959), The Doors (1991), The Game (1997), and Patch Adams (1998), to name a few, as well as in ads, television commercials and theater performances.

Ben remained intellectually curious and open to new ideas until his death, constantly learning and able to reach new conclusions whenever additional evidence emerged. He is survived by two brothers, three children, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial service will be held February 27th, 1-4pm, at the California Pacific Medical Center, Davies Campus Auditorium, lower level B, entrance on Duboce near Castro, San Francisco, CA. Food and continuous video of Ben, sharing 3-4pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Alano Club of San Francisco, 1748 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-2019, 415-621-1107, or to the GLBT Historical Society, 499 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-5859, 415-255-7903.

NOTES
1. from The Ageless Advocate, written by Fabiana Montoya Scanlon
2. quote from Roger Klorese

GLBT Historical Society
www.glbthistory.org
499 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114-2019
(415) 621-1107

Alano Club of San Francisco
www.alanosf.org
1748 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102-5859
(415) 255-7903 
 

From the website of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association:
http://www.dtma.org/beng.html