Angels Camp, CA…Mr. Benjamin “Ben” Joseph Gutierrez July 6, 1971 ~ October 5, 2026 (age 55).  Benjamin “Ben” Joseph Gutierrez was born on July 6, 1971, in Santa Barbara, California.  He was adopted by Fred and Candy Nichols who were both attending college in Southern California. Candy and Fred divorced and Candy continued her college studies supporting Ben on her own, refusing to move back home to live with her parents.

Candy and Ben moved to San Jose and lived on 7th street in a runned down house in a bad neighborhood. Ben would ride on the back of her bike as she went to San Jose State pursuing a teaching degree. In 1976, Candy and Ben met Richard Gutierrez. Candy and Richard were married in 1977 and Richard adopted Ben. Ben had a difficult childhood with allergies and ADHD which was not understood at the time. The school system did not know how to address it and Ben suffered a lot of bullying, in some cases supported by misinformed teachers.

Ben had four great friends down the street; the Mouroux brothers, who took Ben under their wings. Mom and Dad were hearing impaired and one more boy in the pool did not phase them.  When he moved away to college, he kept in touch with Jeff and Greg who were closer in age to Ben. He also met Mike Boyer, who could relate with Ben’s problems with life. Like the Mouroux brothers, Mike remained in contact. Ben had many other friends, but if you know Ben he did not keep address books.

Ben survived high school and graduated from Live Oak HS in Morgan Hill in 1990.  Ben went off to Columbia College and graduated in 1993 with an Associate of Science degree in Forestry Technology. In 1995 he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from California State University, Stanislaus. After graduation, Ben moved to San Francisco working at various large offices working as a security officer for Pinkerton and Securitas. Working at one of the TV
network stations, Ben met many TV personalities and politicians including Diane Feinstein, who took a photo with him. Ben moved out of the city and shared an apartment near Lake Merritt in Oakland, continuing his security officer job in the San Francisco. On his way home one night he was mugged on his way home and suffered loss of teeth and severe injury to his knee.

Ben moved to Angels Camp, living with his sister Megan “Shortie” Gutierrez, her partner Jade and two boys, Noah and Luke. He enjoyed being an uncle to the boys. In 2022, Ben was hired as a custodian at Mark Twain Elementary in Angels Camp, CA. Ben enjoyed his new life in the foothills, working at the school, talking to the staff and students, volunteering with the Columbia State Park as a docent, and as a member of the Calaveras Gem and Mineral Society.
Ben participated in various historical reenactments dressing in period clothing, always with one of his favorite hats. In 2025, Ben moved into his new home in Stelte Park where he quickly decorated the back yard with rocks collected from his weekend searches in the county. The inside was filled with shelves of his books and his favorite hats hung on chairs. He met many friends through the Mineral Society, including Kurt Vitek, who would take him out looking for
stones in the surrounding area. As a child Ben when he was not playing with his Legos and Star Wars figures, he was an avid reader and this continued on into his adult life, reading about local and world history and minerals. While living with Shortie, Ben handed out rocks at Halloween. At Mark Twain, Ben shared his love of rocks to those that would listen, and in some cases handed out stones. At Shorties, wedding he had brought back some stones to gift to one of the owners of the venue. Ben would fill his mother’s text messages before she woke, sharing his plans for the day.

Richard and Candy returned from their trip to Italy on Sunday, October 4. On Monday, Ben was coming over and Richard was planning to give Ben some gypsum stones that he found on one of their hikes in Italy. Ben left us unexpectedly on October 5, 2026. Ben never married but had many friends who he treated like family. His smile and friendly spirit will be missed by all of us that knew and loved him. Many people in our community referred to Ben as the “Gentle Giant”. If you find a stone on one of your walks, please think of our Ben, perhaps he placed it there for you to find.

Private services will be held.

Online condolences can be made at https://www.dieboldfuneral.com/. Funeral arrangements were trusted to Angels Memorial Chapel, 1071 S Main Street Angels Camp, CA 95222, (209) 736-4552.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mr. Benjamin “Ben” Joseph Gutierrez, please visit our floral store.