Walter Phillip Bender Sr., age 97, of Tomah, WI, left to join Jesus in the early hours of Thursday, June 26, 2025, at Tomah Health. His wife of 74 years, Virginia, and his oldest daughter Sherieda were with him, and he spent his final two days surrounded by friends and family, including his other three children –Walter Jr., Shanna, and Sabrina – and several of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Walter was born on the family farm to Jacob and Katerina ‘Katie’ (Schock) Bender in Berlin, North
Dakota on September 10, 1927. He was number 11 of 12 children, and was raised by his mother and
older siblings after the loss of his father when Walter was 4.
Walter grew up working on farms in the Berlin & LaMoure area of eastern North Dakota, driving teams of horses to plant, cultivate, & harvest crops, as well as picking up other odd jobs along the way. Those jobs included chauffeuring the wife of Milton Young (an eventual senator for North Dakota) into town to run errands in a Model A Ford.
He graduated from Berlin High School, and entered the service in 1946, after having lost two brothers –Ralph and Aaron – in WW2. He served in the occupation forces in Japan, working in the general hospital and as a chaplain’s assistant/driver. It was in Japan that Walt caught the ‘golf bug,’ courtesy of his buddy, Pop Tabor.
When he returned from service, he tried his hand at a number of different jobs. He built houses &
chimneys, drove truck, farmed with brother-in-law Al Lutgen, and thought about becoming a doctor. He didn’t think he would be able to afford medical school, so, instead, he went to business college.
At the same time, he was having fun, too…golfing, going to dances, etc. There were some references to ‘flying coattails’ from Berlin, and he got the nickname ‘Turk.’ That was when he met the love of his life, Virginia ‘Ginny’ Richardson.
They met at a dance in Grand Rapids, ND on a Friday night….the next night, Turk and a buddy ‘picked up’ Ginny and her girlfriend on the streets of Litchville. The four of them went out. Ginny had a milkshake and toast….by the time he dropped her off, she knew he was the one for her. He figured it out a littlelater…
Walt figured that he needed a steadier job than farming in order to take the next step. He took the Civil Service exam at the recommendation of one of his business school teachers, and ended up with a job as a clerk typist at Fort Lincoln in Bismarck, ND. With his newly acquired job lined up, he proposed.
Walter and Ginny were married on January 28, 1951. It was a cold, wintry day, with a blizzard in the
forecast. People thought they were a little crazy, but they found an apartment in Bismarck, and were
ready to start their life together.
The young couple moved to Bismarck. They did some pheasant hunting & fishing, and they made some lifetime friends there. They also started their family, welcoming their daughter Sherieda in 1957. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Minneapolis when Walter took a promotion to work for the 5th Army.
They built a new house in the suburb of Brooklyn Center. There they welcomed children Walter Jr.
(1959) and Shanna (1962). In 1965, Walter took a job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the family moved to Belcourt, ND. After a year-and-a-half on the reservation, Walt took another job back with the 5th Army in Minneapolis, and the family moved back to Brooklyn Center.
In 1968, Walter accepted a promotion to serve as comptroller at Fort McCoy, and the Bender clan
moved to Tomah. The family thrived in Tomah, and Walt got to indulge his beloved ‘pasture pool’
obsession, joining Hiawatha Golf Club and playing in league golf for many years. He even managed to shoot two different holes in one at Hiawatha! Walt & Virginia also added to their family in Tomah,
adopting their foreign exchange student from El Salvador – Sabrina Cuellar – as their own in 1979.
Walt got involved in local politics, serving on the Monroe County Board, and also continued his
involvement with the church….which was an integral part of his life. Walter came to the Lord early,
attending church every Sunday with his mother and siblings, and he continued to model and share that faith by how he lived his life. He served as a member of various church councils over the years, helped build/grow several churches and congregations, taught Sunday School, occasionally served as a substitute preacher for small churches in North Dakota, was a strong supporter of the faith journeys of his children, grandchildren, and confirmation mentees, and lived out his faith every day in the little things that make all the difference.
Walt ‘retired’ from Fort McCoy in 1984. He went to work selling used cars in Sparta and working with his friend Arnie Schroeder in his auto body shop for a while. Then, he embarked upon his adventures in golf car maintenance and sales. He became quite an expert over the last 30 years, forming many new friendships, and winning a reputation as the guy to call when nobody else could fix your cart.
Since he had his shop, he also decided to begin restoring an 18-foot, 1947 Correct Craft mahogany boat he ‘rescued’ from a yard Chicago in the early 1970’s…it was now the 1990s! After an exhaustive effort involving cleaning and replacing thousands of screws (6,000+; he kept track), and providing what amounted to ‘adult daycare’ for a number of retired guys – some who were helpful, some who just drank coffee and kibbitzed – the Ginny Bee took her maiden voyage. Walt & Ginny enjoyed taking her out on Lake Tomah and giving friends & family a thrill.
Walt’s Golf Cars was a fixture on the corner by Kwik Trip, behind the VFW, and didn’t officially close its doors until the end of 2023. In reality, Walt was still doing stuff down at his shop into 2024, when it started to be too difficult to get up and down off the floor.
Walter was truly a special man, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. It’s really impossible to fully pay tribute to his life and contributions. We know he will be missed by many whose lives he
touched, and the world is a better place because he was in it.
Walter was preceded in death by his parents; all eleven of his siblings – Edward, Alvin, Aaron, Lenore (Greer), Otillie (Leppert), Arline (Lutgen), Harold, Ralph, Rachel (Young), Hilda (Braun), Ruthie (Matzek);brothersin-law – Alton Greer, Kermit Leppert, Al Lutgen, Red Braun, Mix Young; sisters-in-law – May Bender, Mary Bender, LaVern Richardson, Judy Richardson; daughter-in-law – Peggy Bender; son-in-law– Jim Peaslee; grandchildren – Lisa Peaslee; great-grandchildren – Lindsey Knickerbocker; Tre Ross.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia; four children -- Sherieda Bender-Peaslee, Walter Bender, Jr., Shanna Bender, Sabrina Cuellar (Rick) Ross; eight grandchildren – Kim (Danny Fabeck) Knickerbocker, Tristan (Alyssa) Ross, Austin (Kayla) Ross, Walter Bender, III, Wayne (Carlee) Bender, Wesley Bender, Alejandrina (Sam) Higgins, Jacob Bender; twelve great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; three brothers-in-law – James Matzek, Glen Richardson, Lawrence (Sharon Rae) Richardson; one sister-in-law– Gleneda Muralt; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
A Celebration of Walt’s Life will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, 1:00 p.m. at the Torkelson Funeral Home in Tomah. Full military honors will be provided by the Tomah American Legion Post #201 immediately following the service, and a luncheon will be served at Peace Lutheran Church.
The service will be livestreamed on the Peace Lutheran Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PeaceLutheranChurchTomah/
And, a link to a recording of the service will be available immediately after its conclusion at
www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
Family and friends are invited for visitation on Friday, July 18, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Torkelson Funeral Home in Tomah. Family and friends are also invited for visitation Saturday from 12:00 p.m. until the time of the service at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are encouraged to the Peace Lutheran Church of Tomah’s Library Pantry, The Salvation Army, or a charity of your choosing. Walt’s family would also encourage you to mentor a young person, as, “that’s what Dad would do.”
Peace Lutheran Church
307 West Warren Street
Tomah, WI 54660
Phone: 608-343-7322
The Torkelson Funeral Home of Tomah is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be offered at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com.
The Torkelson Funeral Home
