Ben York


 * Bernice's older brother, who appeared in the strip as an army sergeant on leave from duty from the Middle East. Bernice's parents had him in college before they married and decided to give him up for adoption. His adoptive family named him Ben York. He briefly returned to his birth family after searching for them on his computer. During the month of his first appearance, the DeGroot and Halper siblings went bowling together. While Brad initially felt a bit of jealousy towards Ben for his stature as a soldier, he shortly thereafter felt more respect towards Ben after he mentioned to Brad that he tried to become a firefighter, but could not get through one week of Fire Academy, and that he has full respect for them, and looks up to them as real heroes. Luann, however, developed a crush on Ben. Although after negotiating with Bernice that Ben was not interested in a girlfriend, Luann merely procrastinated, feeling more love for Ben after he e-mailed Bernice and asked for Luann's email. Luann, full of romantic glee, exchanged twelve emails with Ben in just three days, annoying Bernice to the point of her demand that any further email exchanges cease.
 * While on a mission in Iraq. Ben suffered a broken leg, allowing him to discontinue his service in the army and return home. Though Luann assured Bernice that there was no longer any potential romance between her and Ben, she restarted her love interest in Ben by making a Valentine's Day dinner for Ben. Initially, Bernice showed no objection to Luann's plan, but that was because it turned out Ben was going out of town the night Luann had the dinner planned, much to Luann's disappointment, and annoyance towards Bernice for not telling her in advance.
 * First Appearance: 1/22/2007