Benjamin Arthur Irvine

Benjamin Arthur Irvine

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Benjamin Arthur Irvine died on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. Ben was born on Feb. 10, 1974, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Linda Nicholson and Michael Irvine. He graduated from Washington High School and the University of Colorado. Ben was a lifelong entrepreneur founding and running several different companies primarily in tech and hospitality. Through his experience as a Salesforce customer, he developed a great appreciation for the software and ultimately took a position there in 2014. He was a senior director of product marketing at Salesforce at the time of his death.

Ben made friends easily and cherished both his lifelong friendships as well as those he made along the way. After his family and friends, his other great loves in life were golf, cooking, good wine and exploring the world.

Ben started playing golf as a child and it became a lifelong passion. His goal of becoming a scratch golfer eluded him by a few strokes, but he experienced a lot of joy in the pursuit. One of the highlights of each year was the golf trip he took to Palm Desert with a close circle of his golfing friends.

Ben’s love of cooking started at his mother’s dining room table, but grew into a passion in college when he worked in several professional kitchens even starting a wholesale pasta line for one. His entrepreneurial spirit sparked the idea of joining forces with two good friends to operate Pastafari, a pasta stand, for one week each summer to feed hungry RAGBRAI riders. While they turned a profit, the real windfall was spending a week each summer with good friends doing what he loved. After retiring from the restaurant world and moving on to tech, Ben continued to express his love for friends and good food through the innumerable dinner parties that he and his wife, Randa, hosted over the years.

Travel was another great love of Ben’s. He lived in Argentina and Uruguay for several years after college before ultimately relocating to New York. While in South America, he spent many days on the beaches of Uruguay and met his first wife, Florencia, in Argentina. After moving back to the States, Ben spent his vacations visiting friends and family and traveling throughout most of Europe, Latin America and the U.S.

Ben knew that he was very blessed by the love and opportunities he received throughout his life, and it inspired him to work for the benefit of young people who were less fortunate. He devoted countless hours to Covenant House, N.Y., which is the largest provider of homeless youth services in New York City. He led the implementation of Salesforce for them, which created a safe way for at risk youth to access Covenant House resources and was honored by the organization for his work in early 2022 at their annual gala.

Ben is survived by his wife, Randa Irvine, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; his sons, Oliver and Parker, also of Brooklyn, N.Y.; his mother, Linda Nicholson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; his stepfather, Henry Nicholson, also of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; his father, Michael Irvine, of Columbia, Mo.; his sister, Elizabeth Jacoby (Steve), of Chicago, Ill.; his stepsister, Kathy Nicholson (Aran Rice), of Boulder, Colo.; his stepbrother, Hank Nicholson (Dia), of Boulder, Colo.; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Covenant House ny.covenanthouse.org/.