Benjamin Howard Parlier, 48, of Marietta, Georgia, passed away on July 21, 2026, after a long and extraordinarily difficult journey with Crohn's disease and colorectal cancer.
Born on May 18, 1978, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ben lived a life marked by creativity, laughter, compassion, and an unwavering love for the people around him.

To know Ben was to know someone who could make an entire room question whether he was serious or joking on a regular basis. He had a unique gift for delivering the most outrageous comment with complete sincerity, leaving strangers completely bewildered while those who knew him best were already laughing. His quick wit, dry humor, and effortless ability to put people at ease drew others to him wherever he went.

Ben started friend groups the way most people make grocery lists in a way that felt almost accidental. He had a remarkable gift not only for connecting with people, but for connecting people to one another. Many lifelong friendships exist today simply because Ben introduced two people he thought should know each other.

As a teenager and college student, Ben was the class clown. He was always looking for the laugh no one else saw coming. Crohn's disease entered his life at nineteen and changed him in profound ways. What began as unimaginable hardship became the forge that shaped the man he would become. It gave him a deep compassion for others, a generous spirit, and a remarkable tendency to assume the best in people. He never measured people by their worst moments. His instinct was always to believe they meant well, to offer grace first, and to help however he could. Whether helping a stranger after an accident, encouraging a friend, or quietly serving someone in need, Ben's first instinct was almost always to help.

After attending Auburn, he graduated Cum Laude from Kennesaw State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and built a career that perfectly matched his gifts. As an award-winning Art Director, most recently with Erns& Young, Ben possessed an extraordinary eye for design. He often joked that art school didn't teach him how to do art—it taught him when to stop. His creativity, perfectionism, and instinctive understanding of people allowed him to create beautiful work with remarkable speed, but he found even greater joy in using those gifts to bless others. Much of his artwork was freely given to friends and family simply because it made him happy to create something meaningful for them.

Ben loved deeply and lived enthusiastically. He was an Eagle Scout, a competitive swimmer who once swam across Pensacola Bay as a teenager, a swim coach for years including coaching the Cobb County state team, and a lifelong Auburn fan who never missed an opportunity to cheer on the Tigers. He loved music as much as he loved movies, collecting whiskey and cigars, gathering around campfires with a guitar, and finding humor in places other people missed. His playlists could move seamlessly from Nine Inch Nails to Zac Brown Band, Primus to Outkast, because if something made him laugh, think, or feel, he wanted to experience it.

He especially delighted in embarrassing his children with terrible jokes, ridiculous costumes, and conversations guaranteed to make them roll their eyes. It was one of his favorite hobbies.

More than any accomplishment, Ben was proud of his family. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, and Leigh's very best friend. They loved big and fought big, never afraid to challenge one another, yet always deeply rooted in mutual respect, laughter, and unwavering support. He celebrated Leigh's accomplishments as enthusiastically as his own and took immense pride in watching Dylan and Cameron become thoughtful, independent, and compassionate young people who were unafraid to think for themselves. Nothing made him happier than seeing them become exactly the people he had hoped they would be.

In the final years of his life, Ben's faith became one of his greatest passions. Never content with easy answers, he immersed himself in Scripture, constantly searching for deeper understanding. He loved discussing difficult passages, exploring historical context, and sharing the unexpected connections he discovered. His faith wasn't passive—it was curious, thoughtful, and continually growing. He sought truth with the same enthusiasm and wonder that he brought to every other part of life.

Ben is survived by his beloved wife of nearly twenty-two years, Leigh Parlier; his daughter, Dylan Parlier; his son, Cameron Parlier; his parents, Tim and Pam Parlier; his sister, Angie Curley, her husband Pat, and their daughters, Mairin and Amelia; his brother, David Parlier; his father-in-law, Bob Foster; his sister-in-law, Robin Scheiwe, her husband David, and their daughters, Kayla, Kenzie, and Kelsea; his brother-in-law, Geoff Foster, his wife Stephanie, and their children, George, Lewis, and Alice; along with countless friends who became family over the course of his life.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at Roswell United Methodist Church, with a reception immediately following in the fellowship hall. If you would like, wear a Hawaiian shirt in honor of Ben's favorite attire. A private family committal will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Roswell United Methodist Church or the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in Ben's memory.

Though his time on earth ended far too soon, Ben leaves behind a legacy of laughter, creativity, kindness, unwavering friendship, and a life that pointed others toward both one another and toward God. His absence will be felt deeply, but the countless lives he touched will continue to bear the mark of a man who loved generously, laughed freely, and made everyone around him feel like they belonged.