He was born on November 4th, 2018 to Sara and Evan Bender in Brooklyn, NY.
Eli recently completed Kindergarten at Hamilton Park Montessori School in Jersey City.
He described himself as a creator: he loved building things, drawing, and imagining worlds and machines and things that might be. He loved to sing and dance, tell jokes, tickle and be tickled. He was an avid reader and was fascinated by video games, monster trucks, and wordplay. He loved mac and cheese, root beer, chocolate, and frozen blueberries. He enjoyed sports and the outdoors: soccer, hiking, running, swimming, skateboarding, skiing, and sledding. He loved adventures, whether it was looking for a waterfall or riding a train in the city. He loved his baby brother, who he was just getting to know. He loved his friends deeply and thought of them constantly. All who knew him knew him to be kind, patient, brilliant, humble, generous, and determined to have a good time.
Eli is survived by his parents, Evan and Sara, and his brother Isaac; his maternal grandparents Steve and Caryl Gordon; his paternal grandfather Bruce Bender and partner Mary K Eliot; his paternal grandmother Barbara Simon; his aunt Alison Bender and uncle Mike Reardon.
He also loved and was beloved by his extended family, and his many friends and teachers at HPMS.
