Benjamin Ross Pogrund

Benjamin Ross Pogrund, 31, of Austin, TX passed away on March 15, 2023. Ben had the most incredible sense of humor and never failed to make you laugh. He was kind, witty, caring, gentle, wildly intelligent, and so, so talented. Ben's smile lit up the room. He touched and inspired so many throughout his life and will be deeply missed by everyone that knew him. He was born June 6, 1991, in Burbank, California. He was raised in Austin, Texas and graduated from Anderson High School in 2009. After high school, Ben went on to Austin Community College where he finished his Associates Degree in Video Game Design. Then he attended Texas State University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a Math minor. He dedicated 12 years of his life to building and designing his own video game, Realm of the Tempest, that he took great pride in and that was an incredible work of art. He physically drew and designed every object, character, landscape- everything you could imagine- by hand for his game, and composed all of the music- his creative talent for art and design was such a gift. In his spare time, Ben enjoyed challenging himself with advanced level calculus problems on the Harvard website because he had such a passion for math. He has countless notebooks filled with equations and computer code- all that he did, for fun. He was always phenomenal with kids and loved working where he could teach and help them learn to create and design their own video games and how to code. Ben is survived by his parents, Rich and Rona Pogrund, his sister, Amy Renken (Pogrund), nephews, Carter and Wesley Renken, aunt Glenda Kirshbaum, cousins Geoffrey, Christi, and Chloe Kirshbaum, David Kirshbaum, and Ben Kass, Lauren Kirshbaum Kass, Henry, Josh, Zev, and Hazel Kass, birth family Susan Stidham, Marli Creeach, Missy Roberts, and Jimmy and Jacob McBride, and many other family members and caring friends. Ben is preceded in death by grandparents, Walter and Evelyn Lazarus, Lionel and Phyllis Pogrund, step-grandmother Kathryn Pogrund, and uncle Danny Kirshbaum. In lieu of flowers, Ben's family is asking for donations to non-profit organizations to honor his life, Adoption Knowledge Affiliates (adoptionknowledge.org), American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP.org), or any other organizations that help those struggling with mental illness. We miss Ben so much already and feel his absence heavily in our lives. He is and was so loved, and we can only hope that he is now free from any pain. Our hearts will forever be with him.

Benjamin Ross Pogrund

June 6, 1991 - March 15, 2023