Bender, Elizabeth Horsch (1894-1988)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 7 Apr 1988 p. 5

Birth date: 1895 February 7, Indiana
Date of Death: 1988 March 24, Indiana

text of obituary:

Former Professor, Editor, Translator Dies in Goshen at 93

Goshen, Ind. — Elizabeth Horsch Bender, 93, a former member of the Goshen College faculty and a well-known translator and editor, died March 24 at her home in Goshen.

She was the wife of Mennonite historian and churchman Harold S. Bender. He died in 1962.

Mrs. Bender attended Hesston and Goshen colleges, graduating from Goshen in 1918. She received a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She taught Latin, Greek, Spanish, geometry and psychology at Eastern Mennonite School (later Eastern Mennonite College) 1918-1920 and taught at Hesston College, 1920-1921. She taught at Goshen College from 1924 to 1963, when she retired. Among the subjects she taught at Goshen were German, Latin, English and mathematics.

In the 1950s Bender translated the entire Mennonitische Lexikon, which formed the core for the later Mennonite Encyclopedia. She was a major editor for Mennonite Quarterly Review for many years.

She was a member of the College Mennonite Church, Goshen, where a memorial service was held at 2 p.m. March 27, with James Waltner officiating. Sharing remembrances of Bender were Betty Springer, a friend; John Oyer, Goshen College professor of history and editor of Mennonite Quarterly Review, and Leonard Gross, archivist of the Mennonite Church. Burial was in Elkhart Prairie Cemetery.

She is survived by two daughters, Mary Eleanor Bender and Nancy B. Kosteck, both of Goshen; a grandson; and two brothers, Menno Horsch, Frankenmuth, Mich., and Paul Horsch, Pittsboro, N.C.

Memorials have been designated for the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College.

From Find A Grave:

Bender.- Elizabeth Horsch, daughter of John and Christina (Funck) Horsch, was born in Elkhart, Ind., Feb. 7, 1895; died at Goshen, Ind., Mar. 24, 1988; aged 93 y. On May 9, 1923, she was married to Harold S. Bender, who died on Sept. 18, 1962. Surviving are 2 daughters (Mary Eleanor Bender and Nancy Kosteck), one grandson, and 2 brothers (Menno and Paul Horsch). She was a member of College Mennonite Church, where funeral services were held on Mar. 27, in charge of James H. Waltner; interment in Elkhart Prairie Cemetery. (Mennobits)

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MLA Personal Photos Collection

Biographical note:
Elkhart, Indiana
Daughter of John and Christine (Funck) Horsch
Married Harold Stauffer Bender 1923
German and math teacher -- Hesston, Kansas; Goshen, Indiana
Translator, editor

Bethel alumni note:

Photo holdings:
Individual -- 1920s, Newton, Kansas
See Harold Stauffer Bender (1897-1962) for group photo

Sources:
Obit (above)
MWR 10/15/1941 p. 1 (father's death)
Grandma Online profile 415537
Find A Grave 31382056