Obituary of Lawrence Bender

Lawrence (Larry) Neil Bender Larry died peacefully, surrounded in the love of his family, on Friday February 26, 2010, at the age of 59. He is survived by his loving wife Wenda Carter, his father Stanley (Dawn), brother Douglas, sisters Audrey and Karen, and nephews Ryan and Graham. Larry is also survived by Wenda's family, Isabel Calsbeck, Barry Calsbeck, Randy and Lisa Calsbeck and their children Derek, Brett and Zoe. Larry was predeceased by his mother Estelle and father-in-law Dick Calsbeck. Larry began his career with Boeing in June 1972 as an autoclave worker and progressed to a supervisory position and finally a manufacturing engineering planner. Although quiet and unassuming, he was highly respected. Larry had a positive impact on his colleagues and made many lifelong friends. He was particularly proud of achieving his 35 years of service with Boeing. Sports were always a big part of Larry's life, either as a player or spectator. In his youth he excelled at football, playing defensive end for the Lions midget team. Throughout his lifetime he supported all of the local professional sports teams. He enjoyed participating in many sports throughout his lifetime, but golf was his passion and he took every opportunity to hit the links to work on his game. The most enjoyable part for him was the opportunity to spend time with his buddies and Wenda at courses all over the province and adding to his collection of shagged golf balls. It was a very special day when he accomplished the dream of a hole -in- one at Falcon Lake. Larry was happiest with sunshine and a beach and he and Wenda had the opportunity to enjoy many winter vacations to sun destinations. They particularly enjoyed their trips to Puerto Vallarta and their adventure to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Family was very important to Larry and he always looked forward to family gatherings with good food, a few cocktails, and great conversation. He could always be counted on to help his family in any way. Wenda would like to acknowledge Dr. Norman MacEachern, Dr. Zhaocheng Han, Dr. Darcy Johnson and the exceptional care of Dr. Andrew Maksymiuk who supported Larry's hope and determination to beat his cancer. Larry was grateful for the compassionate care of the chemo and radiation staff of CancerCare Manitoba and the support of his Lung Cancer group. A celebration of Larry's life will be held at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street on Thursday March 11 at 2:00 pm. In the hope that a cure will be found, donations in Larry's memory to Cancer Care Manitoba, 675 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9 would be appreciated. "Is it so small a thing To have enjoy'd the sun To have lived light in the spring, To have loved, to have thought, to have done" Cropo Funeral Chapel 586-8044