Benjamin T. Rolfs

ROLFS, Benjamin (Ben) T., age 28, of Winchester, Massachusetts died on May 31, 2015. Born May 29, 1987 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Beloved son of Ann (Weis) and Thomas Rolfs, Jr. Brother of Emily (Emma) and Eric Rolfs. Adored grandson of Ruth and Thomas Rolfs and Mary and Rainer (deceased) Weis. Ben graduated from Winchester High School in 2005. He received his Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude in Mathematics, Physics, and Integrated Science from Northwestern University in 2009. He received his Master of Science from Stanford University in Statistics. He was 6 months from receiving his Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Mathematics from Stanford University when he suffered a devastating spinal cord injury. He was a Data Scientist who had interned for Google and was interning with Twitter at the time of the injury. Ben epitomized the maxim that what we leave behind is not as important as how we lived. He found life to be incredible and everything about it worth exploring. He was a pilot, a mountain climber, a traveler of the world and a voracious reader. He was as likely to be found learning to play tennis or planning a climb of Mt. Denali as he was to be doing the New York Times crossword puzzle or just sitting for hours trying to solve a math problem. Mostly he will be remembered for all the lives he touched. Nothing meant more to him than his family and friends. Graveside service is planned for Saturday, June 13, 2015, at the Banner Township Cemetery in Lawton, Iowa where he will rest with 4 generations of his family. In Lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Ben Rolfs Memorial Fund to establish an award in his name either to: Stanford University-ICME, Ben Rolfs Memorial Fund 475 Via Ortega, Suite B060 Stanford, CA 94305-4042 or online to: The School of Engineering Computational & Mathematical Engineering at makeagift.stanford.edu by writing ‘Ben Rolfs Memorial Fund’ under Special Instructions or via telephone: 866-543-0243