Rancher Ben Cain loses battle with cancer

Rancher Ben Cain, who was part of a deal that allows Spaceport America to coexist with ranching operations near the spaceport site in southern Sierra County, has died. He was 78. Cain passed away Sunday after a long battle with cancer, his wife Jane said. "He was my husband, my partner and a father to my children and the best guy you ever saw in all three fields," Jane Cain said. In December, the Bar Cross Ranch — owned by the Cains — and Lewis Cain Ranch reached an agreement with the New Mexico Spaceport Authority that gave the soon-to-be-built Spaceport America access to 18,000 acres of land already leased to the two ranches. Jane Cain said her husband supported Spaceport America. She said Ben Cain witnessed the first successful launch from the site in late April and was pleased. "He thought it was the past meeting the future and it was quite an ordeal," Jane Cain said, adding that her husband wasn't able to go to the spaceport site because of his illness but witnessed the launch from the porch at the couple's home....