Lincoln funeral draws large crowd 44-year-old ‘Benny’ Tibbetts Jr. was well-liked, respected businessman

LINCOLN – Hundreds of people turned out Tuesday to pay tribute to one of Lincoln’s well-known and respected businessmen.

About 350 people packed the Community Evangel Temple for the funeral service of Benjamin “Benny” Tibbetts Jr. Vehicles filled the parking lot and lined both sides of the roadway for some distance.

Tibbetts, 44, died Sunday after being hospitalized as the result of a July 1 accident where a car struck the motorcycle he and his wife, Carol, were riding in Dedham. Carol Tibbetts remained in critical condition Wednesday at Eastern Maine Medical Center, according to a spokeswoman there.

In January, Tibbetts became the president of Tibbetts Building and Fuel Center Inc. after his father, who started the business about 44 years ago, officially retired.

Many people in the Lincoln area knew “Benny,” who just about grew up in his father’s hardware store and fuel center. His oldest sister, Esther Ring of Lincoln, his wife, Carol, and three of their four children work at the store.

Tibbetts also was active in his church. “Benny’s influence extended beyond his family to this community and very deeply into the life and fabric of this church,” said the Rev. Tim Shaw, pastor of the church. Tibbetts served as a church deacon, as director of the bus, youth, music and puppet ministries and was a Sunday school teacher. He often volunteered to fix whatever was needed at the church.

Shaw said Tibbetts’ biggest attribute was not his large frame or his powerful handshake, but the size of his heart. “That love that so filled Benny’s heart caused him and Carol to open their home to many teens,” he said. “That love drew money from Benny’s own pocket to help other people so many times to buy groceries, buy glasses or to meet some other need.”

Ring, who worked with her brother for 26 years, described him as a very caring and gentle person. She said her brother cared about young people and wanted to make sure they had a good chance in life to a point where he hired some troubled teens to work at the hardware store to give them a chance.

Friends and family members said Tibbetts and his wife of more than 25 years had a special relationship. “They were closer than any couple I knew,” said Ring. “They were everything to each other and worked together every day.”

Cheryl Russell of Chester served on the church deacon board with Tibbetts. “His love for kids was absolutely incredible,” she said.

Russell said the Tibbettses usually took a week or two to counsel at the Whited Bible Camp in Bridgewater, or spent time doing mission work at a church in Guatemala.