Robert Wayne Bender

Obituary Robert W. (Bob) Bender Bob unexpectedly passed away July 2nd at the age of 61, surrounded by his beloved family. Born July 17, 1950 to Peter J. and Connie Bender. Predeceased by his father, survivors include his son and best friend, Peter John Bender, his ever faithful dog Rocco, mother Connie Bender, sisters Lettie (Joe) Devish, and Sherri Martin, several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. A 1968 graduate of Wilson High School, Bob was a sports fanatic, especially baseball, which he played for many years. He had sports statistics in his head, which he could recall at any time. He knew every player on every team, whether it was baseball, basketball or football. He was so irritated when the Supersonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma that he would root for any team who played against the former Sonics. He loved to play pinochle and poker. Bob was always there when called upon for assistance, be it from his sisters (which was often), his mother, a friend or even a stranger. Being half German and half Italian, family was foremost to him. On the German side, he would return to his father's home state of Nebraska for vacations, and learned all about farming from our large family there. Bob always had a smile on his face and a joke in the ready, and was a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy. There were no pretenses for him. If someone was in need, he gave what he could. The family would like to give special thanks to the Critical Care teams at both St. Clare and St. Joseph Hospitals, and to Bob's niece, Julie Johnson, for being our "rock" during this devastating time. Bob was a member of St. John of the Woods Catholic Church, where services will be held Friday, July 6, 2012 at 1:00pm. Entombment at Calvary Cloisters.