Ben Bernard Hoskins, 95, died Friday, January 10, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. He had been a resident of Blue Skies Texas, a retirement community for military service members. He was born on September 28, 1929, in High Point, N.C., to Ben Hoskins and Pattie Jennings Hoskins.

He moved with his mother and sister to Olin, N.C., as a child and attended Union Grove School, Appalachian State College, and earned a B.S. degree from North Carolina State College prior to joining the U.S. Air Force in the early 1950s. He became a navigator, and in addition to stateside bases lived in Alaska, Australia, and a year in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He even flew on missions to deliver supplies to research stations in Antarctica and learned when trying to land and take off there that timing was everything.

On August 22, 1953, he married Mary Therese Roberts of Rome, N.Y. She followed him on most of his assignments, and they raised a daughter, Cathy, and a son, Mike. He made the Air Force his career and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He and his family then moved to Jim Thorpe, Pa., where he worked for several more years at an engineering firm. When he retired for good, he and Mary moved south, first to Chapel Hill, and finally settled in San Antonio. Ben and Mary also loved RV life and traveled many miles during their time together.

Ben possessed strong faith and a humble sense of humor. Gifts he left behind include his recounting of life’s adventures, and sharing family stories, and lots of history.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son Michael; his wife Mary, and his sister, Millie H. Lynn, of Statesville, N.C.

He is survived by a grandson, Matthew Angelino, and his wife Dulce; great-grandson, Sebastian, and great-granddaughter, Scarlett, of Houston, Texas. He is also survived by his niece, Pattie Templeton, and her husband Barry of Statesville, and nieces and nephews of his late wife.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoskins will be laid to rest beside his little Mary in St. Peter’s Church Cemetery in Rome, N.Y., in the spring.

Porter Loring Mortuary in San Antonio,Texas, and Nunn and Harper Funeral Home in Rome, N.Y., are serving the family.