Benjamin Franklin Granger

The song has ended, but the melody lingers on.

Obituary

Ben Granger was born in Minneapolis to musicians Sherry Minnick and Adam Granger on May 29, 1977. A happy, adventurous child, he kept his parents and the ER doctors busy. He was curious, kind, musical and funny from an early age. Growing up, he loved summers in Rhinelander, WI, with the Hodag and the Minnick family.

He had an independent streak, which caused problems in his teenaged years. He became a drummer, and being in the band kept him in school until he was 16. What followed were some difficult years.

In 2012, when Ben was facing incarceration for possession, he turned his life around. He entered sobriety, enrolled in college, did tons of community service and worked hard. In his theater class, he wrote and performed in the play, "58 Months", about how he came to addiction, the consequences he faced because of it, and how he convinced himself and the court to give him another chance. The play was performed at the MCTC Theater and won him a trip to Washington DC and the Kennedy Center to have it workshopped.

He loved music, especially hip-hop and rap, and played several instruments. He became a scratch DJ (DJ Syrum) and rapper with the local band, LeRoy Smokes.

Ben graduated from Metropolitan State University with degrees in Philosophy and Theater in 2018, as one of the ten finalists for Student of the Year. He also got serious in his relationship with Jackie Lane and immersed himself in a second love, pinball.

He became a top pinball player in Minnesota and learned everything about the game. Ben was the IFPA Minnesota State Pinball Champion in 2018. He also started pinball-related businesses; buying, selling, renting and repairing pinball machines. He ran pinball tournaments and was a respected and loved friend and mentor to many in the pinball community.

Ben and Jackie started a family in 2020 with the birth of their daughter, Wren. Two years later, their son, Dillon, was born. Ben was a gentle, loving father who enjoyed watching his children grow and taking them to museums, play places and to the park. He especially loved time at the Granger family cabin on Big Sandy Lake.

Ben was warm, generous, loyal, compassionate and philosophical. He was full of humor and love of good times with family and his hundreds of friends. He was also very handy with tools and could fix most anything.

In December of 2025, Ben broke his leg while moving pinball machines. He had surgery on his leg and three days later, on December 22, 2025, Ben died. He was 48 years old.

Ben is deeply missed and mourned by his partner, Jackie, and his children, Wren and Dillon Granger, along with his parents, stepmother Renee Bergeron and brother Austin (Colin Thomason) Granger, cousins, Jenny Minnick, Andrew (Marina) Granger and James Granger, uncles Terry Minnick, Kurt (Nancy) Hammond, and Christian (Tracy) and Michael Stumpf and by Jackie's dad Al and stepmother Roberta Lane and Jackie's brother, Joe (Erin) Lane.

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