Marvin Arno Bendorf, 04 Sept 1926 - 17 Jul 2014

BENDORF, WENDLER, NOE, ROEMIG, MOERSHEL, WILLIAMS, KAPLAN, JAMISON, AHRENS, HARRISON, DOHRMANN, COOPER, HEUSINKVELD

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 7/30/2014 at 15:49:13

Marvin Bendorf, 87

Funeral service for Marvin A. “Benny” Bendorf, 87, Iowa City, Iowa, formerly of Amana, was held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 21, at the Amana Community Church, Amana. He died Thursday, morning, July 17, 2014, at Colonial Manor of Amana.

Church elder Harold Pitz officiated at the service.

Burial was in the Amana Cemetery with military honors.

Memorials may be made to the Amana Church Society, the Amana Heritage Society or the Amana Arts Guild.

Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, was in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

Marvin Arno Bendorf was born in the village of High Amana Sept. 4, 1926, the son of Henry and Susanna Wendler Bendorf.

After graduating from Amana High School in 1943 and completing his freshman year at the University of Iowa, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served on two destroyer escorts in enemy submarine work in the Atlantic.

One of his most memorable experiences while on active duty during World War II occurred while his ship was being prepared in Brooklyn Navy Yard, N.Y., for a voyage into the Pacific and expected invasion of Japan. On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced the surrender of Japan whereupon Bendorf and many of his shipmates as well as thousands of others rushed to Times Square for an indescribable celebration.

After discharge from military service in 1946, he returned to the University of Iowa and upon graduation in 1949, continued on to complete a year of post-graduate work. While at the University of Iowa, he was a major letter winner in baseball as a second baseman for the Hawkeyes.

His passion for sports led him to teaching positions and coaching baseball and basketball in the Walford and Blairstown public schools. During this time he also played baseball for the town teams of Amana, Marengo and Williamsburg, and also for the M and J. League of Cedar Rapids.

Subsequently he was employed at Amana Refrigeration, Inc. for six years after which he accepted a position as sales and marketing manager for the Amana Society Furniture Manufacturing Division in 1957, a career from which he retired in 1988 after 31 years of service.

He married Emaline Noé Bendorf June 19, 1949, and they were married for 43 years.

He married Madeline Roemig June 26, 1999.

He was also an avid golfer and a former member of Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids. He was a charter member of the Amana Colonies Golf Course and enjoyed the game throughout his lifetime. Always a passionate Hawkeye he supported the Hawks throughout the years.

Throughout his lifetime he devoted time and served enthusiastically in community and civic affairs which included the Amana Society, Inc., Board of Directors and Management Committee; numerous community boards and chairmanships on fund-raising committees for non-profit organizations including the Amana Heritage Society, University of Iowa Coaches Versus Cancer; Iowa Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS); and the State of Iowa Small Business Administration (SBA). He served as a volunteer at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mercy Hospital, Iowa City. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and the University of Iowa President’s Club. He was a lifelong member of the Amana Church Society and served devotedly in the capacity of elder from 1962 to 1988.

He loved visiting with friends and strangers alike. He enjoyed sharing his sense of humor and repertoire of jokes. He found great pleasure in his garden, both in the planning and planting of hundreds of annuals every year in just the right combination of eye-pleasing colors and patterns. Nature’s beauty was his delight.

He often expressed gratitude for the many blessings God had permitted him throughout his lifetime; for a fulfilling, exciting, and meaningful life filled with loving family and many dear friends by whom he will be greatly missed.

Bendorf is survived by his wife, Madeline; two sons, John (Martha), Iowa City, and Carl (Linda), Solon; two grandchildren, Analiese (Jason) Brown, Boulder, Colo., and Oliver Bendorf, Madison, Wis.; a sister, Marietta Moershel, Middle Amana, and a brother, Henry “Hank” (Kathy) Bendorf, Shawnee Mission, Kan. Additional survivors include niece Marianne Moershel (Bruce Woodrow) and sons Erich and Matthew; niece Rebecca Moershel (Larry Gordon) and daughter Ellie, all of Toronto, Canada; nephew Scott (Ursula) Williams, Middle Amana, and daughter Emilie (Mike) Kaplan; niece Angela (Warner) Jamison, North Carolina; niece Sally Williams, Fairfax, and daughter Claudia (Adam) Ahrens; great-nieces, Betsy (Brian) Harrison and Katy (Nick) Dohrmann; stepdaughters, Elizabeth Cooper, Charleston, S.C.; Carol (David) Heusinkveld, Amana; and Susan (John) Goree, Iowa City; and step-grandchildren, Katherine and Martin Goree, Forrest Heusinkveld and James Cooper.

In addition to his first wife, Emaline, he was preceded in death by his parents; a brother William “Billy” Bendorf; a sister Elizabeth Williams; niece, Nancy Williams Cook; nephew, Brian Bendorf; grand-nephew, Morgan Williams; and step-grandson, Jordon Heusinkveld.

Williamsburg Journal Tribune, 24 Jul 2014
The Gazette, 19 Jul 2014