Benjamin Joseph Sokolow

Benjamin "Ben" Joseph Sokolow, age 62, of Draper, Utah, passed away from glioblastoma on Monday, October 5, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Ben was born on January 18th, 1964, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Joseph and Evelyn Sokolow. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, along with his brother, Jeff, and younger sister, Wendy. As the eldest, he enjoyed teaching his siblings new things, and his propensity for laughter often led to teaming up with Jeff for good-hearted older brother pranks on Wendy. Ben’s early independence and innate curiosity for engineering and scholarship led him to pursue an opportunity at Regis High School in New York City (a one-hour commute by train and bus!) where he received an incomparable Jesuit education and developed lifelong friends.

Ben earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1986. Following graduation, he worked for three years as an engineer at Mitre before achieving a lifelong dream of joining the Navy and becoming a pilot. He had the privilege of flying jets (including A-4s and F-14s) and became part of a tight-knit community. During his military career, he serendipitously met and fell in love with his future wife, Dixie Harris.

After five years in naval service, Ben was honorably discharged and returned to engineering by starting his company, Check Six Technologies, with a focus on the emerging field of data and analytics. Ben and Dixie were married in 1996 in Virginia Beach, VA. Shortly after, they moved to Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he helped start and manage Dixie’s pulmonary practice. In Pennsylvania, the couple welcomed the two most important people in Ben’s life: his daughters Valerie and Annelise, born in 2000 and 2002, respectively. A few years later, Ben and Dixie’s “blue skies adventures” began when they moved to Utah, where Ben joined the Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW) team at Intermountain Healthcare as a healthcare data analyst in 2006 and continued his pursuit of knowledge by earning his MS in Statistics from the University of Utah in 2011.

After more than 15 years of working in Utah, Ben took a year-long sabbatical where he honed his life’s purpose and goals before being recruited to join CDW as a healthcare strategist - his favorite job of all time. In this role, Ben savored the opportunity to learn and teach the ins and outs of AI and its uses in healthcare, but the biggest perk was all of the traveling he got to do! He was thrilled to attend conferences and give presentations and continued to work even six months after his brain cancer diagnosis.

Ben believed in giving back to the community. Ben served as a board member and Vice Chair of the Visiting Nurses Association of Western Pennsylvania, volunteered as team leader for LEGO League at Saint John the Baptist Middle School for five years, and offered his time at the COVID-19 drive-in vaccine clinic in Park City.

Ben had several passions including cooking (he famously almost never used a recipe), bike riding (he amassed a stable with 11 bikes of all varieties), skiing, hiking, trail running (he loved Round Valley in Park City most), and quoting movies (“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”). However, one of Ben’s most special passions was coffee and visiting coffee shops. In fact, three local shops kept a "to-stay mug" set aside specifically for him. When asked for a coffee shop recommendation, he could list the three most proximal shops with specific details such as which had the best atmosphere or seating. This was a communal passion for Ben, and he loved it when others joined him for coffee at a shop or local diner.

Being a father was very important to Ben. He strove to instill curiosity and mentor his daughters, Valerie and Annelise, to be lifelong learners; he always emphasized that they could do anything or be anyone.

Ben is survived by his wife, Dixie; his daughters, Valerie and Annelise; his mother and stepfather, Evelyn Sokolow and Gerald Solokas; his siblings and their partners: Jeffrey Sokolow, Maria Marks, Wendy Caldwell (née Sokolow) and Christopher Caldwell; his nephews Joseph, Brian, and Reilly; and his niece Lucinda.

Ben was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Sokolow.

His vigil will be held 6:00 - 8:00 pm on October 16, 2026, at Larkin Sunset Gardens in Sandy, Utah. A funeral Mass will be held for him at 10:00 am on October 17 at St. John the Baptist Church in Draper, Utah. There will be a viewing preceding Mass at 9:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Regis High School in New York City - Regis High School - A Catholic, Jesuit School for Boys in New York City.

From Ben:

“Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.” - John Lennon