For those in the community he was an advocate but for his loved ones, Benjamin Ernest Amador, better known as "Ben," was a husband, a father, a son, a brother and a friend.
Jessica Celestine Amador described her husband as "strong," "humble" and a "beautiful heart."
On Aug. 15, Amador was driving home to Stockton after hiking with friends when he was killed in a car wreck. He was 38 years old.
Celestine Amador said her husband loved nature.
The couple married on January 31, 2020. They had known each other since they were teenagers, Celestine Amador said.
"I loved Ben from the day he had nothing until the day he died," she said. "We started from nothing and we built a really nice life together. My kids are blessed for the hard work he put in."
The
couple had two children Maliyah, 16, and Matteo, 5.
Several years before they wed, Amador served an eight-year prison sentence. He was released from custody on Jan. 31, 2015.
"He used to say he never thought he would come home. He never thought he'd have the opportunity to be a husband, a father, to have a house, to live free, eat as much as he'd like whenever he wanted," Celestine Amador said. "He never thought he was gonna come home. When he was released, he knew he was gonna make a difference in this world and it started off with just our family."
A family man
Celestine Amador said her husband worked as an ironworker with Ironworkers Local 377 out of San Francisco. He would commute five to six days a week to the Bay Area for work.
Amador was a Time Done Stockton chapter leader. The nonprofit serves people living with past convictions or arrests with a goal to remove barriers and clear their records.
"I know that the world sees this activist and this community leader and all the things he's done for a short term, but I feel like everybody has forgotten where Ben started and how our family started," Celestine Amador said. "He wasn't just for the community. He has an entire family who is mourning him by the dozens."
Kara Torres, a close family friend, described Amador as someone who was passionate and determined.
"He was real big on opportunities and a second chance. He took every opportunity he could and he ran with it," Torres said. "He was really proud of that."
Torres said Amador was most passionate about "keeping the kids from messing up their lives." She said he was passionate because he took two strikes with his sentence and it "hung over his head."
"He was so passionate about that because you get treated differently no matter how much you've changed your life," she said. "You get looked at differently and treated differently."
Changing the narrative
Amador was born in east Stockton.
He attended various school before he dropped out, Celestine Amador said. He later got his GED.
"He was a kind soul. He had a beautiful heart. For everything he went through and all of his trials and tribulations, his soul was just beautiful," Celestine Amador said. "It was kind when it needed to be kind. It was strong when I needed it to be strong. He could love deep. He could love hard and deep."
Celestine Amador wants the community to know that Amador loved them.
"He loved every person who was going through a struggle, any person that has a record, any young child who just needed a shoulder. He loved his community and he wanted the best for Stockton," Celestine Amador said. "He said there's so much potential for positivity but we just have to put time and effort into our city and our youth. Our youth needs more and that's what he would try; try to help kids that were like him."
Amador was known for trying to "change the narrative" for formerly incarcerated people.
"He was real big on criminals with the past getting a job and being able to move forward and have a life," Torres said.
Celestine Amador said her husband also loved food.
"He had a beautiful heart but a bigger stomach," Celestine Amador said.
"We just want him to be known for everything that he was besides his community work. Because he was a man that protected us all, loved us all, pushed us all, rooted for us all," Torres said. "He had so much energy and wanted to be involved in so many things and wanted to help and just, he did so much with his time."
Amador leaves behind his wife, two children, his parents, Ernie and Mary, and his siblings, Paul and Laura.
Community support
Celestine Amador created a GoFundMe campaign, "Support Jessica and Ben's Children," which has surpassed the $18,000 goal. The campaign has 189 donations.
"Ben was not only an amazing husband and father, but also someone who gave so much of himself to others. He worked closely with people returning home from prison, helping them find a better path, rebuild their lives, and believe in their ability to create a brighter future," Celestine Amador wrote. "His kindness, compassion, and willingness to stand beside people who needed support made a lasting impact on so many lives. He fought for people who needed someone in their corner, and our community is grieving the loss of someone who truly cared and made a difference."
On the GoFundMe, Celestine Amador wrote that donations will help with "funeral and memorial expenses, mortgage payments, household bills," as the family adjustes, since Amador was the main provider.
Time Done will hold a candlelight vigil in honor of Amador at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, at Victory Park by the Haggin Museum at 1001 Pershing Ave. in Stockton.
"Ben we are still in shock and trying to process this tremendous loss. You were a beacon of light to so many people that had gone through your similar struggle," Californians for Safety and Justice and Time Done said in a shared Instagram post. "You were beyond selfless in this work to free your people, and we are proud to have been able to stand with you in the movement to bring formerly incarcerated communities to the forefront of changing laws and freeing our people from the barriers of post conviction hardships."
Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers business and community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Family, friends and community mourn death of Ben Amador, Stockton advocate
