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Benjamin Clinton Diven, 91, died Monday, July 5, 2010 in Albuquerque. Ben was born in 1919 in Chico, California, to Ambrose and Mary Diven. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from UC Berkley in 1941. His master's degree was interrupted by the war when Robert Oppenheimer recruited him to work in Los Alamos in the spring of 1943. Ben was one of the first people to arrive in Los Alamos to work on the project. After the war he worked summers in Los Alamos and continued his education, finishing his doctorate at the University of Illinois in 1950. He returned to Los Alamos immediately and remained there until 2005 when his health required him to live at a lower elevation. He met the love of his life, Beckie, at Los Alamos during the war. They married at Dorothy McKibbin's house in Santa Fe in 1951. Ben loved Los Alamos, the people he met there, and his work at P3. Ben was happiest when surrounded by his family and friends, with whom he shared many adventures around the world. He had a great love of the outdoors, and was an avid hunter and fisherman, and he loved to work in his flower gardens. Ben is survived by his wife of 59 years, Rebecca Diven; son David Diven (Cathy Davenport); daughters, Mary Diven (Michael Fleischhauer) and Benita (Marcus) Lee; grandchildren, Rose (Bob) Wysocki, Kiki Diven (Stephane Legay), Becky (Michael) Garrison and David Lee; great-grandchildren, Sage, Chloe, Analu, Kiana, Monique, Demitrius, Katelyn and Sydney. He is also survived by his sister Leota Trofitter, sister-in-law Evelyn Sargent; nephew James (Mary Ann) Trofitter, nieces Pam (David) Bergeson and Conner Sargent and extended family members Marilyn Graves (Darrel) Kletke, Palmer (Gayla) Graves and Betsy Graves Staton and their children, Bryan, Laura, Deana, Marc, Lynn, Tori, Jesse and Nicholas. Ben will be deeply missed by his many close friends. A celebration of his life will be held in Los Alamos at Fuller Lodge on Sunday, July 18, 2010 from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon. Please visit our online guestbook for Ben at RememberTheirStory.com French 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE (505) 275-3500
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