October 24, 1925 - June 2, 2007 Ben died at Hospice of the Valley in Goodyear, Arizona. He was born in Los Angeles, where his father William McKesson, served as a Superior Court Judge and District Attorney of Los Angeles.

His first wife Joan was a WASP flying planes in WWII, while Ben served as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Navy. They married in 1950 and had two sons, Derek and Christopher. As his father before him, Ben graduated from USC Law School. He joined the California Attorney Generals Office in 1962, where he headed the Constitutional Rights unit. In 1968, he was sent to San Diego to open the San Diego Office of the Attorney General. In San Diego his love for sailing grew. He took his family on "Pegaso" for a one and a half year sail of Mexican waters. He returned to private practice and served as Commodore of the San Diego Yacht Club in 1981. He served as Commodore of SD Yachting Association, So Cal. Yachting Assoc. and Pacific Coast Yachting Assoc., Judge Emeritus, he served as Vice Pres. San Diego Maritime Museum and Exec. Director of the San Diego Auto Museum. His wife Joan died in 1989 and in 1994 he married Sunny Read, who was also a widow. They traveled extensively making seven trips to Europe. They lived in Solana Beach before relocating to Pebblecreek in AZ in 2004. He leaves wife Sunny, sons, Derek (Linda), Christopher (Debra), Frank Read (Kerry) and a total of 10 grandchildren. 

San Diego Union-Tribune, June 7, 2007