116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Bender, Deon
A celebration of life for Deon Bender, 69, of Parnell will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at the West Union Mennonite Church in rural Parnell. Burial will follow at the Bethel Cemetery in rural Parnell. Visitation will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. today at the Peterseim Funeral Home in Kalona. Deon Bender died Monday, May 2, 2012, at Mercy Iowa City following a brief illness.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Mennonite Disaster Service, West Union Mennonite Church or Iowa City Hospice.
Gerald Deon Bender was born June 30, 1942, in Iowa City, Iowa, the son of Gerald and Nellie (Hall) Bender. He attended Woodland rural school and graduated from Kalona High School in 1960. On April 6, 1968, he was united in marriage to Kathy Wagner in Oxford, Iowa. The couple lived and farmed in the Parnell area all of Deon's life. He was a member of the Johnson County Cattlemen and was a Washington Township Trustee. Deon enjoyed watching stock car races, farming and bailing hay.
Survivors include his wife, Kathy of Parnell; one brother, Gene Bender of Wellman; one sister, Rosalie Luedtke of Iowa City; sister-in-law, Bonnie Bender of Iowa City; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Preceding Deon in death were his parents; one brother, Ron “RB” Bender; a sister-in-law, Phyllis “Goody” Bender; a nephew, Bryan Bender; and a cousin, Bob Bender.
Published in The Gazette May 23, 2012.
Daily Newsletters