Paul Benjamin "Ben" Arredondo

Paul Benjamin Arredondo, “Ben,” was born in Mesa, AZ at the South Side Clinic on July 3, 1947. His parents were Alejandro Molina Arredondo, originally from Sonora, Mexico, and Josefa Gurrola Arredondo, “Josie,” originally from Zacatecas, Mexico. He joined a blended family of eleven siblings, including his father’s five children—Emilio, Alejandra (Hondy), Gloria, Michael, and Aida—and his mother and father’s boys—Daniel, Henry, Alex, Joe, Ben, and, two years later, Richard (Rick). They all remained close throughout their lives.

Ben grew up in the adobe house his family built on Transmission Road (University Road today) in Tempe, where his parents could point to nearby ASU and tell the boys that was where they needed to go if they didn’t want to labor in cotton or farm fields. Ben listened and went on to earn a B.A. and M.A. from ASU, as well as an A.A. from Mesa Community College.

Ben internalized his father’s words: that learning to use a shovel and work hard would mean he would never go hungry. When Ben was twelve, his father died in a farming accident. Devastated by the loss, Ben found release through sports and Future Farmers of America (FFA). As a Tempe Elementary, McKemy Middle, and Tempe High Buffalo, he played and excelled at football, baseball, and wrestling. Guided by wonderful coaches, teachers, his mother, and his siblings, Ben found his calling in education and coaching.

Over the course of his career, Ben taught fifth grade at Whittier Elementary before becoming a Mesa Jackrabbit, where he taught health, driver’s ed, and physical ed. His greatest passion, though, was coaching—he led state champion and divisional champion wrestling and football teams, and happily coached girls’ badminton as well. Ben started the wrestling cheerleading team (Mat Maids) at Mesa High School and initiated the East Side Wrestling Tournament. He later became Deputy Superintendent of Maricopa County Schools, where he founded the Thomas J. Pappas School for homeless and disadvantaged youngsters in Tempe, and then went on to become an administrator at the East Valley Institute of Technology.

While Ben’s early focus was coaching and mentoring high school students, he was equally drawn to supporting younger children, and he joined the Tempe Elementary School Board. During his tenure, he helped get a new district office built through a public/private agreement that saved taxpayer's money, and he worked to ensure that schools in Victory Acres and Guadalupe received the same resources as other district schools.

From there, Ben went on to serve 16 years on the Tempe City Council, where he championed the building of Tempe Town Lake, Tempe Marketplace, and the Tempe Center for the Arts; the renovation and preservation of the Tempe Beach Ball Field, the Tempe Library, the Tempe History Museum, the Escalante Community Center, and other community centers; the expansion of police and fire services; the installation of the light rail and the Hardy Sports Complex. He also supported the strengthening of the Tempe Community Action Agency and the Tempe Community Council. The Tempe community was in his heart.

Ben’s public service extended well beyond Tempe: he served as a Maricopa County Supervisor for two years, as State Representative for the Tempe area, and as Executive Director of the Arizona Governor’s Council on Health, Fitness and Sports from 1987 to 1994.

In recognition of his life’s work, Ben was named Arizona High School Coach of the Year and was inducted into both the Tempe Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Arizona High School Coaches Hall of Fame.

Ben passed away at home on July 8, 2026, after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s. He is survived by his loving and dedicated wife of 48 years, Ruthann; three children, Kristie Granado (Armando), Benjamin Arredondo (Krista), and Jennifer Giannetta (Marc); and seven grandchildren, Andrew, Alyssa, Peyton, Braxton, Eliana, Natalia, and Vincent. He is also survived by his brothers Alex (Mary), Joe (Karen), and Rick (Meg), and by many beloved nieces and nephews.

Arrangements by Bunker’s Garden Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.