Benjamin Wieler was a student at Madison High School who graduated in 2007. While spending his junior year at Middlebury abroad in Spain, Ben passed away from complications during surgery for an unsuspected brain tumor. Most of the students at MHS have heard of Ben because of the annual soccer tournament to raise funds for the scholarship in his name to remember. Ben’s charismatic personality had a positive impact on the lives of everyone who met him. He knew how to make people feel important and cared for. I never had the opportunity to meet Ben, but in order to get a better understanding of who he was, I spoke with those who did have the privilege of knowing him.
Mr. Robertson: Ben was not only an outstanding student, but also an even better human being. He possessed excellent leadership abilities and was involved in just about every aspect of this school. He treated everyone with a tremendous amount of respect regardless of whether they were adults or students. I remember him being particularly good with freshmen.
Marcia Prill: I remember Ben being funny, considerate, bright, engaging and really just loved life. He had a certain ability to disrupt a class in laughter without letting the teacher become angry at him. This was possible because all enjoyed his witty humor. He had a kind, generous spirit.
I remember when it was getting near prom time and one of the girls was asked to go by a boy who was “not so nice.” Ben was truly worried about her safety during and after the prom. Ben tried to talk her out of going with him because he was concerned about her being in a car with the boy, spending time after the prom with him, etc. He finally convinced her not to go with that boy, who did end up getting into some trouble that weekend. She was so thankful that he had talked her out of going with him.
Connor Casey (Friends with Ben): It seemed that Ben was friends with everybody. He was the kind of person that could relate to just about everyone at school, and enjoyed everyone’s company. It seems like in every memory I have of him he’s smiling and enjoying himself.
Ben had a big impact in my life. I moved to NJ when I was in 6th grade, and got to know him in 7th grade (at MJS). We played sports together and hung out all the time. He was definitely one of the reasons I met so many new friends in middle school; it helped that he seemed to know everyone. He also had a pretty big impact on my family, particularly my brother. I remember Ben would come over after school all the time just to hang out with Sean, who was 9 or 10 at the time, to see how his school and sports were going. He and Sean were close. He was like this with all of our friends’ siblings, from what I remember. Ben loved people, he had a great sense of humor and was a great friend.
Sean Casey (Friends with Ben): Ben exemplified all the characteristics of a good person. He was always smiling this really big, exuberant smile. You could see his personality just through that smile. He was a really kind person who would go out of his way for you. Ben would be over at my house all the time and whenever he’d come over he would include me in whatever they were doing. I was so young at the time so it was cool being included with him.
David Barry (Ben’s Soccer Teammate): He was a great guy. I never heard anyone say anything bad about him. He was an upperclassman, but he always made me feel really welcome and accepted on the soccer team. Everyone on the team looked up to him. Ben was a lot of fun to be around and it was always obvious that he had a really big heart. He was one of the most genuine people that I have ever met.
The 5th annual Ben Wieler Soccer tournament will take place Saturday November 30th. For more information regarding the tournament, please contact Nicole Cecala – [email protected] or 201-572-9747