HELEN T. BENDER Dec. 24, 2014
Helen T. Bender, longtime resident of Los Alamos, died of natural causes December 24, 2014, at her retirement apartment in Rio Rancho, NM, where she had been living for the past year. She was 92.
Helen was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and lived in the Philadelphia area until moving to Los Alamos in 1956.
Helen was a loving wife and mother, good friend and neighbor, a generous soul and a truly outgoing individual. She is remembered fondly by friends and family from “back east” for her gracious hospitality and the pride she took in “showing off” her northern New Mexico surroundings.
She had been active for years in the Episcopal Church and more recently at the White Rock Senior Center. She worked at Bendix during her “Rosie the Riveter” years while her husband was in the Navy; she worked at Clement & Benner in Los Alamos, and then at Mesa Public Library, where she retired.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband, John H. Bender, Jr., 29 years ago, and by two brothers and a sister. She is survived by her sister, Mrs. Stephanie Koziol, of New Jersey; four sons, Gary, Rick (and wife, Ida) and Bruce, all of NM, and Craig, of WA; daughter, Debora Ussery (and husband, Larry) of Los Alamos; grandsons, Ron Bender, and Jonathan and Christopher Ussery; granddaughters, Amy Sandqvist and Alysia Jackson; and four great-grandchildren.
According to her wishes, she was inurned next to her husband at Guaje Pines Cemetery, following a quiet ceremony attended by her family. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Friends of the Los Alamos County Library System or to the charity of their choice.