Barbara M. Bender

Barbara M. Bender, 52, of 341 S. Park Avenue, died Friday, September 19, 2008, at St. Agnes Hospital after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer surrounded by her close family and friends. She was born October 16, 1955, in Fond du Lac, the daughter of Clarence and Elaine Brown Knaus. On September 3, 1976, she married Herman E. Bender in Fond du Lac. Barbara was a 1973 graduate of New Holstein and was employed by Wells Manufacturing for almost 30 years. She attended Moraine Park Technical College and U.W. Fond du Lac. She was active in the Democratic Party, the Mid-America Geographic Foundation and the Hanawakan Center. She enjoyed watching the Brewers, traveling with her family, was a consummate cook and a great organizer of pot-luck events, and was a complete mother to her children and wife to her husband. She will be forever missed. Words cannot express the deep loss. Surviving is her husband, Herm, a daughter, Sarah Bender and her husband William Anderson of Oshkosh, a son, Nathan Bender at home, a sister Michelle Gruber (husband Mike) of Fond du Lac who Barb and Herm raised following the deaths of her parents before starting their family, two brothers, Ronald (Susan) Knaus of Bayside, WI, and Andrew (Karen) Knaus of Fond du Lac, her mother-in-law, Lorraine Bender of Fond du Lac, two brothers-in-law, Fred (Kathy) Bender, Jr. of Huntsville, AL, and Mark (Janet) Bender of Fond du Lac, a sister-in-law, Janice Stoffregan of Las Vegas, nieces, nephews, aunts, including a special aunt, Sister Rosetta Knaus, O.F.S., Campbellsport, uncles, and special friends, Dennis and Sharon Lange of Fond du Lac, and her Chinese "relatives", Chi and Ping Qi of Greenfield. Her parents, an infant brother, Anthony, her father-in-law, Fred Bender, Sr. and Ellen Qi preceded her in death.



Visitation for Mrs. Barbara M. Bender will be on Saturday, October 4, 2008, from 2 to 4 pm at Uecker-Witt Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held at 4 pm at the funeral home on Saturday. Cremation has taken place. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the American Cancer Society for Research in care of the family. Additional information and guest book may be found at www.ueckerwitt.com