"L.E." Bender

Obituary for L.E. Bender III

L.E. Bender III, 72 years old, born in Odessa, Texas on August 28, 1947. He passed away on September 15, 2019 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a resident of Taos since 2007. He also lived in Nehalem, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Mons, Belgium and Honolulu, Hawaii. Preceded in death by his parents L.E. Bender Jr. and Eula Vernice Barnes and his brother M.B. Bender. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Laurie Scott Bender; his son, Logan Elliot Bender; daughter, Kirstie Bender Segarra; and his granddaughters Cesca-Maria Segarra and Athena Renée Bender.

He served in the US Navy as a decorated Navy Seal in Vietnam in 1966-1967. He then served at NATO military headquarters from 1968-1974 in Belgium. After being honorably discharged, he moved with his family to Seattle, Washington where he completed his bachelor’s degree in music at Seattle University. He worked as a musician and IT professional.

L.E. was a passionate composer, songwriter and jazz guitarist. His signature quote was “Dying is easy, lyric is hard.", by Oscar Hammerstein.

He mentored his children and nephews in the art of music. He leaves a legacy of beautifully written songs. His other loves were humor, Mesoamerican history, cooking, fly fishing, humor, river rafting, kayaking, Tai Chi, gardening and British humour.

He will be interred at Santa Fe National Cemetery.  Arrangements by Rivera Funeral Home, Taos.  To share a memory, please visit our website at www.riverafuneralhome.com