Ethel Bender
Wed, 07/19/2017 - 10:03am
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Memorial services for Ethel Bender, age 87, of Lemmon, South Dakota, were held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 6, 2017 at the Prince of Peace Chapel of the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD. Pastor TJ Shockely officiated with burial at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD, at a later date.
Ethel Laura Reinke was born in Tuttle, North Dakota, to Otto and Emilia (Gillig) Reinke on April 1, 1930, the 4th daughter of 7 girls. She lived in North Dakota until 1952 when she moved to McLaughlin, SD, then eventually to Lemmon, SD.
On October 6, 1946, in McClusky, North Dakota, Ethel was united in marriage to Henry “Hank” Bender. To this union seven children were born. In Lemmon, Ethel began working at Wheeler Manufacturing as a trim saw operator, cutting rocks and doing anything else that needed to be done. She also worked as a bar tender, waitress, cook and nurse’s aide in her younger years. She retired from Wheeler’s in 1996 and enjoyed her time reading and visiting with friends and family. She started bowling in the 1960’s and continued to bowl until 2014, attending many state tournaments in South Dakota and even the National Tournament in Bismarck, ND in 1989.
She was extremely proud of quitting smoking, something she did on April 3, 1997. After almost 50 years it was something she took great pride in. She was a member of the VFW Auxiliary in Lemmon and sold many Buddy Poppy’s throughout her years.
Ethel passed away on Sunday, July 2, 2017 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.
She leaves behind her four daughters, Penny (Larry) Alexander, Connie (Terry) Richardson, Rita (Ron) Peterson and Vicki Bender; three sons, Dale Bender, Dwight “Buddy” Bender and Steve Bender; eight grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; one sister, Elaine (Damian) Mazeika.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Henry Bender; one grandson, Tommy Priest; and 5 sisters.
Condolences may be sent through our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com.
