Donald Cypher
Donald “Ben” Cypher, 86, of Saxonburg answered his last alarm and roll call on May 6, 2021.
Born Oct. 31, 1934, in Marwood, Pa., he was the son of McCurdy Cypher and Pearl V. Knoch.
Ben proudly served his country from 1953 until 1956, in the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea.Ben was president and chief investigator of Donald B. Cypher and Associates Inc., Fire Cause and Origin Investigations, which he started in 1976.He was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish (St. Joseph Church) in Cabot.He was a life member of the Marine Corps League Bantam Detachment 743, and served as commandant from 2015 to 2017. He was a 65-year member of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Department, having served many positions, including ladder captain and chief. He was active as a firefighter for 62 years, until his health issues required his retirement from active firefighting. He was past president and life member of the International Association of Arson Investigators.In 1968, Ben became the first state master fire instructor in Butler County, and taught all phases of firefighting and fire investigation. He became the first chief of the Butler County Community College Fire Training Facility in 2002.In 2015, he was honored by being named as the Butler County Veteran of the Year. He volunteered at the Butler VA for many years.Surviving are his wife, Mary Lou (Carbin) Cypher, whom he married June 27, 1981; his children, Donald (Gayle) Cypher of Owls Head, N.Y., Douglas (Margaret) Cypher of Carlsbad, Calif., Danielle (David) Vaughan of Butler, Dayne (Kelli) Cypher of Sarver, and Benjamin (Melissa) Cypher of Alta Loma, Calif.; nine grandchildren, Heather (Jeff) Schultz, Jeremy (Jessica) Cypher, Garrett Cypher, Leah (Sean) McQuillan, Marc Vaughan, Tori Vaughan, and Rylee, Regan and Remington Cypher; five great-grandchildren, Hayden, Jillian, Jackson, Cameron and Grayson; and a great-granddaughter on the way.He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Raymond and Charles Cypher; and his first wife, Jacqueline Lefevre Cypher.CYPHER — Friends of Donald “Ben” Cypher, who died Thursday, May 6, 2021, will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Fox Funeral Home, 410 W. Main St., Saxonburg.A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Francis of Assisi Parish (St. Joseph Church) with the Rev. Ward Stakem officiating.Interment will be held at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.Memorial donations may be made to the Marine Corps League, P.O. Box 511, Lyndora, PA 16045, or the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company, 210 Horne Ave., Saxonburg, PA 16056.Please visit www.foxfuneralhomeinc.com.
