Robert Vincent Bender

From early childhood through high school, Albany, New York was my window on the world. The parents, Helen and Lloyd Bender, were hard working and devout. My Dad was superintendent of Mails, a government position that favored our family with stability during the 1930 depression years when unemployment was rife. I was able though parental encouragement and support to go to college, though I was an indifferent student in high school. I spent an extra year there before any enlightenment took place. I choose a small private college in New Haven, Connecticut, Arnold College, majoring in Physical Education and graduated Summa Cum Laude which denotes a transformation took place. Upon graduation I went almost immediately into the Navy in June of 1942. In November of 1942, after 4 years of courtship while we were both students, I married Naomi Madison. She had just achieved her degree as a registered Nurse. Our future was on hold during my three years in the Navy. The last half of my enlistment was spent on a ship in the Pacific with the anchorage in Buckner Bay, Okinawa. After military service, I sought and was hired as associate staff member of the New Haven YMCA staff. The certification as a YMCA Director required graduate studies which I pursued at Yale University. My YMCA career spanned 39 years and afforded a very varied experience and further management education. Upward mobility required moving; the itinerary includes positions in Dallas, Wichita Falls, Dallas again, San Jose, Costa Rica, Caracas, Venezuela, Philadelphia and Abilene, Texas. Dallas was home for seventeen years during which I was a consultant to the YMCAs in the Southwest: Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Costa Rica was an assignment to learn Spanish, to proceed to Venezuela to serve as a consultant to nine YMCAs in the country. In Abilene, the goal was to raise four million dollars to build a new YMCA which was completed in 1985. I retired at 5:00 p.m. on my 65th birthday. Post retirement furnished a new experience in an unfamiliar field requiring new training and extensive travel in the United States. The YMCA formed its own insurance company and I was engaged to conduct risk reviews and do risk management education. This opportunity added six years of activity in a stimulating endeavor. My YMCA work opened up broad vistas with several trips to Europe, one with high school youth and another with a team of industrial management experts which favored Romania with a bilateral seminar in Bucharest, to advance their technology. Learning a second language and living in a different culture in Venezuela was a cherished experience. Now, it's time for accumulating new experiences in leisure pursuits. Caribbean Cruises and a special trip in a two engine Commander Plane with a Bush Pilot, with a visit with the Aborigine Yanoama Indians South of the Orinoco River; exploring the Big Bend National Park and frequent visits to New England to keep up with our Boston family indicate a busy travel program. Add visits to a lifetime dividend of friends wherever they might be. All this and a very active community in Lakeway, Austin, Texas enriched our retirement years. It was a great rewarding lifestyle with few demands and many diversions. A time to watch our children and grandchildren develop their own life experiences and soak up pleasure from it. The greatest satisfaction and pleasure of my life was my good fortune in acquiring a most satisfying family and my cherished and devoted wife of 65 years, Naomi Bender. Two fine daughters and two exceptional son-in-laws, Susan and Rocky Wilcox of Austin, TX and Carol and Shawn Smith of Wolfeboro, NH. Along with eight grandchildren, Robert and Shelley Wilcox, Sean and Kim VanCleave and Tricia Wilcox; Tysun and Nevin McKay, Kelly and Jon Hardy, Dana Smith and Dan Wilson, Shawn Smith and Susan Smith. All of whom are achievers. Additional I have 6 great grandchildren; Coleton and Reece Wilcox, Kate and Teddy Hardy, and Nevin and Naomi McKay. Memorial service to celebrate the life of Robert Vincent Bender will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday May 31st at the Lakeway Church. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Saint Jude's Hospital of Memphis Tennessee. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105