Philip Craig Ben-Ami

On August 4, 2026, Philip Craig Ben-Ami died at home in Peoria. He was 73. Born in Peoria on May 7, 1953; Israeli-American cooking and payday thrift set the tone of the house. He grew up believing that showing up was the first craft. She graded fruit that had to look inevitable in crates. A citrus grade paddle decided what left for markets inland. Colleagues still mention a citrus grade paddle. In 1979 he married Deborah. The marriage was not a speech; it was groceries, repairs, and a daughter and two sons walked to school in weather that did not care. When Deborah died in 2019, he kept what still worked: the early walk, the small garden, the call on Sundays. Neighbors remember quiet help with a stuck mailbox or a heavy trash can. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Peoria, among streets he never needed to explain. The extra coffee is still in the thermos.