‘They were about building community’: Fort Worth couple killed in crash honored with memorial
Ben and Meg Arbour were well-known and admired by many in their community. Almost three years after their deaths, with the help of Councilman Jared Williams and other Fort Worth city officials, the Arbours’ friends and loved ones can continue to honor them in their neighborhood with a bench and street toppers made in their memory.
Ben and Meg, both 39, died in a car crash in November 2020. One of two drivers who were racing in the 4700 block of West Risinger Road crashed into the Arbours’ vehicle as the couple was pulling into the street. All three occupants — including the driver of the vehicle that was racing — died at the scene.
The other car that was racing sped away, according to police.
“My prayer is that these spaces will be spaces for continued healing from the grief that we bear,” Williams said Wednesday night at a dedication for the memorial. “I also hope that this space is a space where we can remember all of the good memories that each of us hold of Ben and Meg and that we’ll leave here with a deep sense of purpose and responsibility for one another.”
Williams reached out to Jimmy Arbour, Ben’s father, two years ago to come up with ideas to best honor and remember the couple.
The bench and street sign toppers that were made for Ben and Meg were debuted Wednesday evening in a memorial at Summer Creek Neighborhood Park. The street sign toppers were placed on top of the 8600 Burr Oak Lane and 4700 West Risinger Road street signs.
“I think it’s exceedingly appropriate for you to honor a couple who... that’s what they were about,” said Emory Patterson, a minister at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, who gave a prayer. “They were about building community and you all here are an expression of that today.”
Ben was an adjunct professor of philosophy and ethics at Weatherford College and also worked at Sewell Lexus of Fort Worth. He held a doctorate from the University of Bristol in England and wrote essays in peer-reviewed journals on everything from the nature of time to Christian theology, his friends said. He was a part of interfaith dialogues with atheists.
Ben was also a board member at Capturing Christianity, a group focused on making intellectual arguments for Christianity.
“We did tons of ministry together for God and I got to see Ben firsthand make an impact on so many people’s lives and I have been blown away by the sheer number of lives that Ben and Meg have impacted,” said Michael Goodwin, who was a close friend of the couple.
Meg was a full-time stay-at-home mom who prided herself on giving her kids a good education, friends said.
“This is an awesome thing. We can visit their graves, but I don’t think we’ll ever be able to separate them from their wonderful home that was here,” Goodwin said. “So to be able to know that we can come back to this neighborhood and remember Ben and Meg here is an awesome thing for us.”
The two were dedicated members of Wedgwood Baptist Church. They were married for around 18 years and passed on their love for each other to their four children, said Dusty Deevers — who was a close friend of the couple — in an interview with the Star-Telegram in 2020.
Ben, Meg, and their children lived in the Summer Creek Ranch Neighborhood.
“This is a special place, a perfect place for this bench because one of the greatest memories that Meg gave to me when we were living overseas ... she would send us pictures of the kids and we had given our grandchildren one of those little bikes with no pedals — there is a picture of Micah going right down there through that little stream,” Jimmy Arbour said.
“Your legs are up. You’ve got the biggest smile of glee on your face as you splash through the water,” Jimmy said as he spoke to 14-year-old Micah — one of Ben and Meg’s children — at the memorial. “One can sit right there and imagine that. So that’s a beautiful, beautiful memory.”
Williams also presented two certificates of recognition for the parents of both Ben and Meg, who attended the memorial with the couple’s four children, Wesley, 18, Abby, 16, Micah, and Chris, 12.
“In their honor, Ben and Meg made a difference in the lives of their family and in their community. With this dedication, we honor their legacy and cherish the love that they have shared with all of us,” said Williams as he presented the plaques.
Ben and Meg’s daughter spoke about the difficulties she and her siblings faced coping with their parents’ deaths. The couple’s children live with their aunt and uncle.
“The first few months was the hardest, just getting in the groove of living in a new family and having to adjust to all of the different changes, moving schools. Literally everything was just kind of like up in the air and everything was undetermined. So I think that was really scary and that was probably one of the hardest things about it,” Abby said. “It’s definitely gotten easier as time has gone by. It’s been almost two and a half years and we’ve made a new community, new friends, a new family, and it’s definitely still hard. I think about them all the time, but I don’t know... there’s this positivity, I just have to think positive... we’re gonna get through it.”
Jimmy Arbour and Williams also spoke about issues surrounding illegal street racing in Fort Worth.
“It is wrong that Ben and Meg were taken away from their children and from us and I implore the city of Fort Worth to take action to stop the deadly criminal street racing that took Ben and Meg and that is taking so many other lives, “ Jimmy said. “And I implore you, Councilman Williams, and the rest of the Fort Worth Council to take real action... And I implore all of you that are here to support him (Williams) and the City Council in their efforts to do this and to hold them accountable if they don’t take the right action.”
Williams responded to Jimmy’s call to action, telling attendees at the memorial that it is important to make sure the community is safe, starting with safe driving.
He says there are increased issues of reckless driving, street racing, and organized reckless driving, according to a report he received from Executive Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge of the Fort Worth Police Department.
“We’ve been focused on the enforcement side, the traffic enforcement, ensuring that we have the appropriate levels of staffing to be able to better enforce our traffic laws,” Williams said. “In addition to staffing levels, we’ve also been focused on making infrastructure improvements, not only to roads, but also to traffic control measures, like stop signs and traffic signals.”
Over the past 18 months, six stop signs have been installed on West Risinger Road, where the fatal accident happened, according to Williams.
Williams’ office continues to work with the city on bringing more traffic signals to the area.
The memorial concluded with the debut of the street sign toppers.
“I’m so proud of how the community responded in a very tragic time to wrap a family in love and to show their support,” said Williams.
This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 10:59 PM.
