Benjamin Alan Watson died on August 15, 2026, after a courageous battle with incurable cancer. He was 64. He leaves behind his loving sisters, Debbie and Cynthia, and a family that extended far beyond blood; a vast and loving community in the Monadnock Region and around the world.

Raised in Concord NH, Ben graduated from Concord High and went on to graduate from Yale University with high honors. He devoted his life to words as an author and editor, food as the local, national and international leader in the Slow Food movement and cider making and judging through the Franklin County Cider Days. He is credited with saving the Granite Beauty apple from “functional extinction.” He grafted countless apple trees throughout New England helping preserve and spread varieties that might otherwise have been lost.

He worked for Yankee and Chelsea Green and was the author of Cider: Hard and Sweet, Heirloom Vegetables and many other books he co-authored. He helped shape and bring the work of other writers into the world as an editor. Ben was still creating until the time of his death. He was working on a new project called Brother Apple, (http://brotherapple.com (http://brotherapple.com/)), which reflected so much of who he was.

He was a voracious reader, an exceptional writer, and an extraordinary storyteller. He remembered an astonishing number of lines from songs and movies and could summon just the right quote at exactly the right moment. His mind was endlessly curious, and conversations with Ben could begin with a quote from W.B. Yeats and end with a song from Monty Python.

Ben was kind, brilliant and a friend to so many. His absence will be felt in countless homes, kitchens, orchards, gardens, publishing offices, cider presses, tasting rooms, and around the tables where his stories were shared. He will be profoundly missed and lovingly remembered.

A celebration of life for Ben will take place on August 23, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Mayfair Farm, 31 Clymers Drive, Harrisville NH.