Betty Sager Bender

Betty Sager Bender, 92, mission programmer and writer for West Seventh Street Church of Christ and former resident of Columbia Academy Campus, died Friday, February 14, 2020 at Life Care Center of Columbia. Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 4 p.m. at West Seventh Street Church of Christ with Randy Owens officiating. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 5–7 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. Graveside services will be conducted Friday at 2 p.m. at Hart Cemetery in Rogers, Arkansas. The family suggests memorials to Let's Start Talking, www.lst.org, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas, 66675-8516. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. Born August 22, 1927 in Benton County, Arkansas, she was the daughter of the late Albert E. Sager and the late Pearl Martin Sager. On December 8, 1945, she married Duane Dean Bender who preceded her in death July 2, 1995. She was a graduate of Bentonville High School in Bentonville, Arkansas and obtained a Bachelor's degree from Anderson College in Anderson, South Carolina at the age of 70. Before moving to Columbia, she and husband did mission work for over 30 years in the Northeast United States. Mrs. Bender was a member of West Seventh Street Church of Christ, where she was very active in mission work with Let's Start Talking, going on several mission trips around the world. Survivors include her daughters, Rachel (Reagon) Wilson of Tinton Falls, New Jersey; Beth (Mark) FitzGerald of Yuma, Arizona; twin brothers, Jon (Katie) Sager of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Joe Sager of Tulsa, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Jeremy Wilson, Jason Wilson, Jared Wilson, Joshua Wilson, Brad Fitzgerald, Julie Furxhi, Tyler FitzGerald; and nineteen great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her son, Randle Sager Bender.