John Frederick Bender

Judge Bender was born January 5, 1946, in Bucyrus, Ohio, to Oliver and Helen Bender, both deceased. He graduated from Bucyrus High School. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and graduated from Ohio State University College of Law in 1971 with a Juris Doctor degree, Summa Cum Laude.

After admission to the Ohio Bar in 1971, Judge Bender entered active duty as a Judge Advocate Officer with the U.S. Army through 1976 and served in the U.S. Army Reserve until his retirement in 1998 as a Colonel and Senior Military Judge. In 1991, he was activated for Operation Desert Storm and was awarded his second meritorious service medal for outstanding achievement.

Judge Bender served as the first Judge of the Crawford County Municipal Court for 12 years. He then served as Chief Elections Counsel for Secretary of State Bob Taft. In 2003, he became a judge with the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas retiring in 2012 and then served statewide as a visiting judge until 2016. He worked tirelessly for the strengthening of Ohio’s Driving Under the Influence laws. He also served on the Ohio Jury Instructions Committee for more than 20 years.

When not on the bench, Judge Bender loved playing golf and was a lifetime fan of the Buckeyes, Browns, and Cleveland Indians (Guardians).

He was preceded in death by his parents and his only brother, Jim Bender. He is survived by wife Roberta, daughter Brandy (David) Clark, granddaughter Parker Clark, stepdaughters Kelley Anne (Tim) Bawmann and Jenifer (Jim) Manos, and step-grandchildren Julian, Regan, Caden, and Saylor Manos, Chloe (Evan) Bollier, and Elijah Bawmann.

The family would like to thank Dublin Glenn and Zusman Hospice for their wonderful compassionate care and kindness during his illness.

John never met a stranger, offering kindness freely to all. At his request, there will be no services. Remember him as he lived.

Contributions in John’s memory may be made to Zusman Hospice, 1151 College Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43209 (https://www.whv.org/donate/) or Dublin Food Pantry, 6608 Dublin Center, Dublin, Ohio 43017 (https://www.dublinfoodpantry.org/donate/) or the charity of your choice.