Alice Irene Bender

Alice Irene (Howe) Somes Bender, age 85, of Bloomington, died Saturday morning at the Sterling House. Born November 15, 1923 in Bloomington, she was the daughter of Fred H. and Thena Esther(Roberts) Howe. She was a retired Opthalmic Assistant for Dr. James Way, M.D. She had formerly worked in the family business of J.A. Howe Candy Co. where she was affectionately known as “The Candy Girl”. She served her community as a volunteer in the Bloomington Hospital Emergency Room and as a member of the B.P.O.E. Elks Auxiliary, American Legion Auxiliary, Hopewell Circle and Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. She enjoyed her family and life itself. She is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-law; Irene and Dennis Reedy and Barbara “B.J.” and Gary Ryser, all of Bloomington; two step-children and their spouses, Dick and Joyce Bender, of Indianapolis and Mary Lynn and Greg Myers of Muskegon, Wisconsin; eleven grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Oscar Joe Somes, second husband, Eugene Bender and three sisters, Elizabeth Howe, Lorena Hyde, and Nancy Barr and one grandson, Kevin Matthew Bender. The funeral service will be at 10 A.M. Wednesday at Day Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow next to her first husband in Rose Hill Cemetery. Friends may visit the family at the funeral home on Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M.Memorial contributions may be given to Hospice of Bloomington Hospital.