Richard Churchill Bender of Gilroy, CA passed away on April 20, 2023. He was born in Anniston, Alabama January 27, 1934 to Brigadier Gen Arthur Hodgkins Bender and Jane Bonnycastle Bender. He grew up as an "Army brat" living all over the world and the United States. He graduated from University of Texas at El Paso with a BSEE degree where he began his US Army career in 1955 as a 2nd Lt. He started as a single engine pilot after attending flight school at Ft. Rucker, AL but his severe asthma grounded him. His career continued in the Army Air Defense Command. He served two tours in Korea during the war and one in Vietnam where he worked for the United Nations. He had a 21-year career retiring in Colo. Springs, CO as a Lt. Col. He then had a second career in the defense electronics field. He is preceded in death by his wife Sandra of thirty years. His ashes will be interred next to hers at Eternal Hills in Oceanside, CA. He is survived by his two children, Laurie Black (Norman) and Richard Bender Jr. (Lisa), as well as grandchildren kyle Cavenaugh, Lindsey Sanders, Heather Black, Kevin Black, and Madison Bender as well as two great grandchildren (Adelaide, Lorelai Sanders). He was a quiet man with a problem-solving mind, and he will be missed.