Benjamin Ostrer, 71, a dedicated defense attorney of Chester, N.Y., lost his battle with neuroendocrine cancer on July 13, 2022.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in Great Neck, N.Y., Ben graduated from Alfred University and New York Law School. He moved to Orange County to establish Chester Valley Farm for thoroughbred racehorses. In 1986, after ten years in the horse breeding and auctioning business, he opened his law practice in downtown Chester. His career as an attorney brought accolades from clients and colleagues. In 2016, he was awarded the N.Y.S. Bar Association Criminal Section’s Charles M. Crimi Award for outstanding private defense attorneys in New York State. The bar association later bestowed on Ben its Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award, recognizing his significant pro bono work for those in need. In 2022, the N.Y.S. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers gave Ben its Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedicated service to the profession.
He leaves behind his loving wife, Joan, devoted sons Evan (Jennifer), Paul and Jack, brothers Steven (Sally) and Mitchel (Gene) and stepbrother Brian Cohen, as well as nephews and cousins. He was proud of his family and treated his business associates as an extension of his family.
In addition to leadership positions in the Chester Republican and Orange County Republican Committees, Ben served on the N.Y.S. Commission on Forensic Science, the N.Y.S. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers board (having served as the association’s president), the Orange County Legal Aid Society Board, and the N.Y.S. Bar Association Legislative Committee. Ben was actively involved in his synagogue, Congregation Eitz Chaim, where he served as President and as a gabbai for many years.
A funeral service will take place on Sunday, July 17, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. at the Monroe Temple Beth-El, 314 N Main St, Monroe, NY 10950. Burial will immediately follow at the Temple Beth Shalom Synagogue Cemetery, Spanktown Road, Warwick, NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Congregation Eitz Chaim, PO Box 183, Monroe, N.Y. 10949, or to Planned Parenthood.
Arrangements are honorably entrusted to the Joseph N. Garlick Funeral Home - 845-794-7474 or www.josephngarlickfuneralhome.com.