Frank Bender

Frank

BENDER



Frank Bender was a man of action. He leaves behind a legacy of more than 60 years of commitment and personal investment in shaping the Reno of today. His business acumen in the warehousing and transportation industry, his involvement with the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business, his leadership in establishing business organizations such as WIN, and his charitable works for the community he loved, are but a sampling of the contributions he made to the Truckee Meadows and the state.

Born in Reno on October 5, 1920, to Edwin Bender and Adele Norcross Bender, he grew up in California and attended the University of California, Berkeley. He returned to Reno after his tour of duty in the U.S. Navy during W.W.II to work with his father at Bender Moving and Warehouse, a company his father founded in 1945 with a 60,000 sq. ft. warehouse and a few trucks.

Perseverance was one of Frank's great strengths, both professionally and personally. He died peacefully of Alzheimer's disease on December 2, 2009, at age 89.

Frank came by his entrepreneurial spirit quite naturally. He was the third generation of a family of entrepreneurs and visionaries who played dramatic roles in the development of Reno since the 1800s. His father was instrumental in creating the 1949 Freeport law that allows goods moving through Nevada to be warehoused tax free, a pioneering achievement at the time. After his father's death in 1952, Frank worked to make the law part of the state constitution. He convinced the 1957 legislature to support a constitutional amendment, which was overwhelmingly approved by the electorate in 1960. This significant accomplishment gave permanence to Nevada's economic advantage for warehousing and light manufacturing companies.

Frank's role in helping the Reno/Sparks area's warehouse and distribution industry earn a national reputation is well known. But what many may not know is that he was also instrumental in establishing the Center for Logistics Management in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1988. This successful program has attracted major employers from around the country and provides students with classroom study and hands-on training in distribution, manufacturing, warehousing, purchasing, and marketing. Frank took great pride in this particular accomplishment. He served on many boards for business, economic development and service organizations including several that are listed here. From 1964-1977 he was a board member and chairman of the Nevada State Department of Economic Development, serving four different governors. In 1968 he was the founder and third president of WIN, Western Industrial Nevada. He served as the 1969-1970 president of the Rotary Club of Reno, the first Rotary Club in Nevada, and remained a member of the organization for more than 40 years.

Other prestigious positions he held included chairman of the board for the American Warehousemen's Association from 1981-1982, member and chairman of the DRI Board of Trustees from 1983-1986, member of the Governor's Commission on Economic Development in 1983, and active member of the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation from 1990-1995. Included in his many honors are the Raymond I. Smith Civic Leader of the Year Award in 1970 from the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce, the President's Medal at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1990, and the Junior Achievement Business Leader's Hall of Fame in 1991.

Charming and gregarious, Frank seemed to know everyone; he was a master at social networking long before Twitter or Facebook. He had strong views on many subjects, including his lifelong position as the quintessential conservative. He wrote letters, frequently to those in positions of responsibility, when he found something that ran counter to his beliefs, but he also wrote personal and thoughtful notes, which often included newspaper clippings or informational items he thought friends, family and acquaintances might enjoy. An avid outdoorsman, he loved his home at Donner Lake and tackled his favorite hobbies, fly-fishing and skiing, with the same purpose and gusto he had for most things.

He is survived by his son Chris Bender and his wife, Priscilla; his daughter, Leslee Bender; grandson Josh Bender; step-grandson Christopher Foy, his wife, Michelle, and their children, Jack and Hannah; Bobbie Bender, Chris and Leslee's mother; stepson Joe Rooney; Terry Bender, Joe Rooney's mother; sister-in-law Berry Glover and her son, Brett Glover, his wife, Lori and their children, Andrea and Kevin and dear friend and companion, Vi Peevers. Frank was preceded in death by step-son Alan Rooney.

A special thanks to the staff at The Court in Reno, a memory care residence where Frank lived this past year. They provided extraordinary care and compassion.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 627 Sunnyside Drive in Reno. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to either the Frank N. Bender Scholarship Fund, University of Nevada, Reno Foundation MS 162, Reno, Nevada 89557 or Keep Memory Alive, which is part of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, 888 West Bonneville Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89106.