Gwen Bender

Gwendolyn E. Bender, age 62, of Carroll, Iowa, passed away on Monday, February 20, 2012 at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, at the Carroll First Assembly of God Church in Carroll with Pastor David Schaal officiating. Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll from 5:00 - 7:00 P.M. on Thursday. The casket will be moved to the church at 9:00 A.M. on Friday until the time of service. Music for the service will be the Carroll First Worship Team. Burial will be in the Carroll City Cemetery. Casket bearers will be Roger Buehler, Gary Babcock, Aaaron Siebrecht, Chad Neumann, Travis Neumann, Curt Scott, Reggy Tuel, and Bob Larson. Honorary casket bearers will be her grandchildren. Born on July 23, 1949 at Sac City, Iowa, she was the daughter of Earl and Ivon (Sorrell) Buehler. She grew up in Odebolt and graduated Odebolt – Arthur High School in 1968. She was married to Marlin Bender in 1968 in Ft. Dodge, Iowa, and the couple later divorced. She attended DMACC in Carroll and earned a degree in Business Administration. Gwen worked at Sitel, the Breda Telemarketing, and the Carroll Manor Nursing Home. She was a member of the Methodist Church while living in Odebolt. Gwen enjoyed playing pinochle on her computer and spending time with her children and grandchildren. Surviving are her father Earl Buehler of Odebolt, Iowa; a daughter Sheila Bender of Carroll; two sons: James Bender and his wife Jeanette of Carroll, and Christopher Bender and special friend Shelley Mancilla of Odebolt; nine grandchildren; two brothers: Benjamin Buehler and his wife Marilyn of Lake View, Iowa, and Paul Buehler of Fremont, Nebraska; and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Gwen was preceded in death by her mother and her grandparents.