January 10, 1981 – August 1, 2026
William Benton Phillips of Hesperus, Colorado, known to friends and loved ones as Ben, passed away in a tragic car accident on Aug. 1 at the age of 45 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Ben was a beautiful combination of quiet depth and bright humor. He was a man of immense patience and compassion, yet equally quick to make a joke and take part in harmless mischief. A listener above all else, Ben spoke intentionally — only offering words laden with meaning. His confident, sparkling eyes provided a calm, grounding anchor to everyone fortunate enough to know him.
Ben was born on Jan. 10, 1981, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, to William and Mary Elizabeth Phillips. He developed an early and lasting love for the mountains, rivers and rugged wilderness of the American West. Summers were spent kayaking, mountain biking, climbing and rafting, while winters brought skiing, both at resorts and in the backcountry. Ben attended Aspen High School, graduating in 1999, and went on to the University of Colorado Boulder, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors in 2004 with a degree in Environmental Science.
After circling each other’s orbits for over a decade, Ben quickly fell in love with Kate Lackemann when she moved to Southwest Colorado after law school in 2008. Their complementary personalities wove together to create a union filled with fun and adventure. Whether working on Ben’s eclectic farmhouse in Mancos, or traversing the backcountry, they loved being together as much as possible.
Ben and Kate had a mountaintop elopement on Earth Day 2012 with dear friends by their side, and celebrated with their community of loved-ones with a memorable party a year later. They welcomed two sons, Thorne in 2014 and Raef in 2017. For the last decade, Ben and his family made their home in La Plata Canyon, loving the snowy winters and alpine summers. Ben was the rock of the family, grounding and leading Kate and the boys in everyday life and on countless adventures.
Professionally, he excelled as a boat builder, filmmaker, backcountry guide and stuntman. However, when it came to his true priorities, Ben made the deliberate choice to step back from work to focus fully on raising his two sons. Ben was a dedicated father. He poured his heart, patience and time into his wonderful boys.
He had a deep affinity for rivers and wilderness adventure. Ben was a world class whitewater paddler who pushed the frontier of his sport across multiple continents. He often guided those he loved away from the chaos of modernity and into the uncluttered present, where the artificial constraints of unit-based time fell away. Untethered from schedules, his life force burned brightest in the wild — a quiet, steady presence anchored not to a clock, but in the timeless expanse of human connection and open land. He had a flexible view of the future and rarely said “no” to any invitation to travel or be with friends and family, anywhere, anytime.
He lived with a humble perspective, and understood with clarity what truly mattered, often reminding those around him that life isn’t defined by what you do or where you go, but by who you spend your time with. Where others saw hardship, Ben saw a catalyst to learn, evolve and deepen his understanding of the human experience.
Ben is survived by his wife, Kate, their sons, Thorne and Raef, his parents, William and Mary Elizabeth Phillips of Carbondale, Colorado, brother, Taylor Phillips, sister-in-law, Anisa Qureshi, niece, Zara of San Anselmo, California, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as a community of friends and loved ones who were shaped by his quiet strength and friendship.
In honoring Ben’s memory, his loved ones hold fast to the wisdom he embodied: to listen deeply, to forgive radically, to love water and open spaces and to treasure the people sitting right beside them above all else.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you take an extra moment with loved ones. Gifts in Ben’s name can be made to Western Resource Advocates (westernresourceadvocates.org) or Grand Canyon Trust (grandcanyontrust.org) to help protect some of the places Ben held most dear.
A Celebration of Ben’s Life will be held on Sept. 26 at 11am on the Smiley Building lawn in Durango, Colorado. All are welcome.