Shirley Ann (Linhart) Bender

Shirley Ann Bender passed away on May 13, 2022 in Mesa, AZ, after a ten-year battle with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), a rare brain disease.  Shirley was born in Springfield, Ohio, October 18, 1946, to Emil and Agnes Linhart; she was their only child.

She graduated from Catholic Central High School in Springfield in the class of 1964.  After graduating from Miami Jacobs Junior College in Dayton, Ohio, with an Associate Degree in Business, she married David Bender on July 2, 1966. They moved across the United States with David’s job with the Federal Highway Administration.  Shirley had the opportunity to work with several companies while raising two sons, Michael and Matthew. Her last position was executive assistant to the president of Chemical Lime Company in Scottsdale, AZ.

Shirley returned to college at the age of 52 and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Marshall University in 1999.  Later that year, the family moved back to Mesa, AZ. Shirley was active in the Red Mountain Ranch Social Club.  Her hobbies included tennis, bridge, reading, and traveling before her illness.

Shirley is survived by her husband, David Eugene Bender; her sons, Matthew Ryan Bender and Michael Jason Bender; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth (nee Howard) Bender; grandchildren, John (Jack) Patrick Bender and Caroline Grace Bender; sister-in-law, Linda Bender; brother-in-law, Alan Smith, as well as a niece, two nephews and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, Emil Anthony Linhart and Agnes Marie (nee Labedz) Linhart; bothers-in-law, John Bender and George Bender, and sister-in-law, Beverly (nee Bender) Smith.

A Funeral Mass will be on Wednesday, May 25, at 10:00 a.m. at All Saints Catholic Church in Mesa, AZ.  A prayer service will be held on Wednesday, June 1, at 10:00 a.m. at the St. Bernard Cemetery Chapel in Springfield, Ohio, followed by interment at the Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the Alzheimer’s Association. Local arrangements are being handled by the JONES-KENNEY-ZECHMAN FUNERAL HOME. Condolences may be shared at www.jkzfh.com.

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