William "Bill" Bender

William "Bill" Eugene Bender, 83, of Augusta passed away, Tuesday, September 27, 2022 surrounded by family. He was born February 17, 1939, to Charles and Mattye (Hostetler) Bender.

During his lifetime Bill was in the Army Reserves, he owned his own motorcycle business, worked at M&M Cycle Shop and Southern Michigan Equipment Company where he retired from.

He loved to hunt and fish and was an avid mechanic. He had a true knack for repairing and building all sorts of things. He was a member of Yorkville Church, where he sat on many committees and often offered his skills to repair whatever needed fixing. Bill also enjoyed classic cars and riding motorcycles. He has won trophies for hill climbing motorcycles. He was an animal lover, Bill enjoyed the outdoors and going to the zoo very much.

Bill and Eileen were married November 12, 2003, and together they loved to travel. They spent time in the Dominican, Hawaii, Mexico, Israel, and Ireland, a place Bill truly admired. Summers were spent at Bill and Eileen's home on Sherman Lake and winters were warmly spent in Arizona, overlooking the mountains.

William is survived by his wife Eileen; daughters, Peggy (Randy) Knotts and Pam (Gary) Bender; grandchildren Randy (Maria) Knotts and Jessica Speese; stepchildren Tom (Nancy) Boyd, Scott Boyd, Louann Boyd, and Michele (David) Schinderle; seven step grandchildren, nine step great grand kids, sister-in-law Ola Schwili; niece; nephews; cousins and his dog Marv. He is preceded in death by his parents, a sister; Nancy Williams; and first wife; Erika Bender.

A visitation will be held 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., on Monday, October 3rd at the Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care, Richland Chapel where services to celebrate Bill's life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at 2:00 p.m., at Prairie Home Cemetery. A luncheon will take place at New Hope Covenant Church in Richland following interment.

Memorials may be directed to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, American Cancer Society, or the Alzheimer's Association. Personal remembrances of Bill or messages for Bill's family may be left in the Memory Book at www.farleyestesdowdle.com.