Obituary of Benjamin A. Barbash

Barbash, Benjamin A. Victor: Suddenly due to complications of surgery, Monday, March 21, 2011, at age 37. He is survived by his parents, Ann and Steven Barbash; brother, Micah (Patricia) Barbash; nephew, Daniel; 2 German Shepherds, Augie and Sadie; aunt, uncle, cousins and friends. "Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight." Born in Rochester; infancy in Webster; started pre-school in Victor, which he loved dearly and to which he consistently returned. By First Grade he was instructing his classmates in how to make puppets and a puppet stage. His teacher was concerned that the Second Grade teachers would stifle his creativity, so he went to the Harley School, where his performing talent was lauded but his tendency to assume leadership was stifled. He returned to the Victor Schools in Eighth Grade and resumed acting, founding and leading a Drama Club in High School. He was active in the Victor Film Society and became a cartoonist for an underground student newspaper which was started by older friends of his. That relationship cost him later recognition when he was nominated for National Honor Society . He had studied music, mime, cartooning and pottery in Rochester, acted in the Nazareth Summer Program and was given a scholarship to the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga. Having been an apprentice at the Bristol Valley Playhouse, he inaugurated an intern program at GeVa Theatre in Rochester which he presented to the Victor School Board, who accepted it as an independent study program for his Senior Year. He was accepted in the theater program of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he became President of the Drama School Student Association, did numerous internship and independent programs and worked for the Manhattan Theatre Club after graduation He returned to Victor and got involved in the Victor Historical Society, becoming President and then Executive Director. He returned to New York City for a job with Actors' Equity and from there to Los Angeles to help a friend start a business, eventually starting his own pet-sitting business (BBK9) based on growing up surrounded by pure-bred German Shepherd Dogs, cats, ducks, and Nubian Goats. Because of Narcolepsy he avoided driving, but he often fell asleep on buses, so he taught himself to knit, meeting Ilsa Gordon at a yarn shop. He became the Manager of a landmark 1939 Motion Picture Theatre, the Fairfax, and was elected as the Business Member of the local Council. They decided to come East but she eventually returned to California and they divorced, His love of Victor and the region revived and he wanted to pursue a longtime plan for developing a cultural corridor along Route 96, which runs through five counties from Rochester through Ithaca to Owego. The first step would be to establish a fiber arts center in the back of his parents' antique store on Route 96. He had just joined the Spinning Guild, as well as pursuing the New York State SEAP program, taking workshops and a Small Business Course at FLCC, with a goal of conjoining local Agriculture and Crafts. He had also become an active and promising member of the Genesee Country Antique Dealers Association, the Genesee Valley Kennel Club, the German Shepherd Dog Club of Rochester, and the German Shepherd Dog Club of America. He was handsome, healthy, articulate, visionary, caring, self-sacrificing, witty, creative and charming. He slipped on the ice and shattered his kneecap. He was frustrated but optimistic about his recovery, rehabilitation and return to the pursuit of his dreams. The world is at a loss for what he might have accomplished but all whose lives he touched are the richer for it. Friends are invited to a celebration of Benjamin's life Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock at Lucey-VanVoorhis Funeral Home, 301 West Main Street, Victor. Gifts in his memory may be directed to American German Shepherd Dog Charitable Foundation, c/o Debra Hokkanen, 186 Pilgrim Drive, Holden, MA 01520.