Obituary
David James Bendle(Dave), born July 4, 1949, the first child of Alfred and Mary Bendle, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passed award after a very brief battle with ultra aggressive small cell lung cancer on May 16, 2017. Dave is survived by his wife of 29 years, Carol; father Alfred (Alf); children by his first wife, Susan, Kevin and Tara; sister and brother in-law Janise and David; brother Robert and grandchildren Braden, Hunter (Kevin) and Nolan (Tara).
Canadian born and raised, Dave enjoyed the winter sports of snow mobiling and hockey. As a young man, Dave played semi-professional and league hockey as goalie. He continued to be an avid hockey fan even after relocating to Florida in the early 80’s. From birth, he spent many summer nights at the family cottage in Honey Harbour, Ontario, Canada. This was one of his happy places, where he taught water skiing as a teen ager at the “Dell”, fished, boated and generally relaxed.
Dave worked in the printing business. He started as a bindery helper at Maclean–Hunter (Toronto) and worked up to bindery supervisor, at Webcom (Toronto) prior to moving to Florida. He continued to work as a bindery supervisor at several mid-sized printers in both the Fort Lauderdale and Central Florida until his retirement in 2012.
Living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dave spent his down time on the water and enjoying NASCAR. In 1988, he became an open water diver holding multiple certifications including deep water and cave. Boating and diving with Carol and friends, Rodney and Margret Anschutz became an every week event. During the racing season, he could be found at the track or planted firmly on the couch watching each race as it unfolded.
In 1997, he and Carol relocated to the country, in Umatilla, Florida. They built a house on 10 acres and got their first horse, Ali which led to the purchase of his horse, Knievel’s Painted Can-Do (aka Shadow) and many more! At one point, 9 horses lived on the farm. His love of the ‘farm’ and horses continued until his death. He traded the snow mobile for an ATV and a tractor, City life for horses, chickens and the occasional cow. Even the loss of his leg to a blood clot didn’t dampen his spirit.
One of his favorite places to visit was Alaska. He had been there twice, and was an avid watcher of all Alaska-based television shows. He had hoped one day to get back to Kodiak to see the bears catching salmon and to visit the Kachemak Bay area. Dave often spoke of perhaps moving there one day!
Dave took every opportunity he was given to enjoy life, Carol, his family and friends. He was kind and gentle. He will be missed by all he touched. God’s Speed.
Rest in peace,
Your cousin Randy
I am so sorry for your loss. Dave was a great guy. I will always remember the conversations we had that ranged from NASCAR to Alaska to those darn bears in your neighborhood. Thanks for sharing him with us.