Benjamin “Ben” Maynard, 41, of Longmeadow, Mass. and formerly of Nobleboro, passed away on June 25, 2025 after a long and valiant battle with brain cancer that began in 2011.
Ben was born in Augusta while his family was living in nearby Manchester. At the age of 3, he and his family moved to Nobleboro. Ben attended Lincoln Academy, where he was very active in athletics, playing varsity basketball and soccer. He would eventually be inducted into the Lincoln Academy Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. After graduating in the top 10 of his class in 2002, he attended and graduated from Keene State College in Keene, N.H., majoring in safety and occupational health. While at college, he was a four-year member of the Keene State Owls basketball team, where he developed lifelong friendships to add to his list of cherished friends from back home in Lincoln County. While at Keene State College, he was part of a team that set a program record for single season wins (25). The 2003-2004 Owls also became the first Keene State team to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA men’s Division III basketball tournament.
After graduation he remained in Keene and began working as the safety director for Carlisle Wide Plank Floors in Stoddard, N.H. Later in his career he worked briefly for Chubb Insurance as a safety inspector visiting the work sites of current and prospective insurance clients. His final employer was Smith & Wesson in Springfield, Mass., where Ben worked in its safety department for a facility employing over 1,000 people.
While living in Keene, Ben met his future wife, Kimberly “Kim” Russo, who was attending graduate school at Antioch University in Keene where she earned her doctorate in psychology. In 2013 they were married and in 2017 were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Olivia, to be followed by the birth of their son, Miles, in 2021.
Ben was an incredibly warm and outgoing individual and was often, if not always, eager to tell a story or two or three. He enjoyed (and excelled) at nearly any competitive pursuit, getting together with friends, outings with the family, and cheering for the Patriots and Celtics. He is survived by his loving wife, Kim; daughter, Olivia (7); son, Miles (3); their little dog, Gertie (who was his faithful companion until the end); his parents, Patty and Kurt Maynard, of Brunswick; his brother, Erickson “E.J.” Maynard, sister-in-law, Amy, and niece and nephew, Aiva and Sam, of Baltimore, Md.; in-laws, uncles, aunts, cousins, and countless friends who comprise his extended family.
A memorial gathering for friends and family is being planned for September or October in Keene, N.H.
