'We’re all grieving right now': Community mourns loss of special education advocate Ben Kredich

Cathy Dodson had been teaching for 18 years when Ben Kredich walked into her Sequoyah Elementary School classroom and completely changed her perspective.

"For the first time in my teaching career, I saw connections being made," said Dodson, who was Ben's second grade teacher. "He was just a light for me and I felt the power of inclusion when I taught Ben. ... He was going to make his way in this world."

Ben Kredich's parents have long advocated for support for students with disabilities, and the fight was always about letting kids like him learn shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers. Ben, age 24, was killed Aug. 21 after he was struck by a car as he walked along Kingston Pike.

Community members who know Ben and his family through his mom Kim's work as a student advocate or dad Matt's position as the University of Tennessee swimming and diving director are heartbroken, enraged and in disbelief. They remember Ben, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age, as witty, loving and talented.

Ben loved music, his mom said for a recent Knox News profile of her work as an advocate. He played piano at assisted living centers. He had "perfect pitch," Kim said.

Earlier this year, Ben's former school aide Marsha Partin was in the hospital unconscious and intubated when Kim heard Partin's family had been called to say their final goodbye. She went to the hospital with Ben, who played piano for her, one last time, for 30 minutes.

"She passed away after hearing Ben play and I believe in my soul that she heard him play and heard us laughing and crying," Kim said.

Ben's connection with Partin was a product of the Kredich family's fight for educational inclusion.

Ben also loved words. He could spell backward, Kim said, and he sang spelling words.

"Ben and I would play a game where I would give him a strange medical terminology, (and) he would go look it up," said Annabel Henley, a close friend of the Kredich family.

"He would then greet me with the definition," she added. "He would say my name two or three times. Annabel. Annabel."

"In the world of autism, connecting with people is hard, but he (Ben) found a unique way to connect with people in his life," Henley said. "He wanted to be accepted and loved for who he was. He did that for everyone else. He accepted everybody."

People close to Ben say he had a knack for bringing the room together.

"His wide smile" is what will be missed the most, said Karen Horton, Ben's West High School swim coach.

Horton said working with Ben and Kim taught her a lot about working with special needs students and how to "better make sure students can thrive in an inclusive environment."

"(Ben) drew people together," Horton said. "Even in his passing, he’s doing that now. ... Ben saw you through and through. He knew your soul, he knew your spirit."

The Kredich family's fight for inclusion

Ben's family moved to Knoxville from Richmond, Virginia, where he had received appropriate school support services. In Knoxville, Ben was zoned for Sequoyah Elementary School, but just weeks after he started, the district told the family he’d be better served in a separate school for autistic students, his mother Kim told Knox News earlier this summer.

That notice started a long, drawn-out journey toward inclusion, but one that paid off.

Motivated by her fight for Ben, Kim began advocating for all students in special education in Knox County Schools. She helped hundreds of students over the years.

Ben graduated from West High School in 2017 and went on graduate from University of Tennessee's FUTURE Program in 2021.

Ben's legacy can best be pictured by envisioning the hundreds of students helped by his family's advocacy.

“You’d need a big room. You’d need an auditorium," said Deborah Hyde, who became a close friend of the Kredich family while advocating for her son.

Hundreds of students’ lives were enriched and "they were assured a future because of Ben," Hyde said.

More: Their decades of fighting for special education led to this moment at Knox County Schools

Ben's Bill

Ben's fight for inclusion continued even at the University of Tennessee, when he advocated for students like him in the FUTURE program to be able to live on campus.

His advocacy led to the passing of Ben's Bill, which opened the doors to university housing for students in the program.

"He was a very special student," University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde Plowman said in a statement to Knox News. When he was killed, she added, "He was doing what he was supposed to do: walking on the sidewalk, coming up to have dinner. It’s a terrible loss. Just terrible. Anyone who's a parent sees that, hears about it and it's just like a kick in the stomach. We love his family. ... We’re all grieving right now."

Ben was living independently and working for several assisted living centers when he died.

A celebration of life for Ben will be at 2 p.m. Aug. 27 at the James R. Cox Auditorium at 1408 Middle Drive on the University of Tennessee campus.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to Indo Jax Surf Charities. Donations in Ben’s name may be sent to Jack Viorel, surf charity director. Venmo: @indojaxcharity

Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AreenaArora.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville mourns the loss of special education advocate Ben Kredich