Orel Huffman Bender Jr of Pioche, Nevada passed away on July 28, 2021 at the Southern Nevada Veterans Home in Boulder City, Nevada at the Age of 89.
Ben was born November 22, 1931 in Los Angeles, California to Orel Huffman Sr & Fern M. Brown of Monrovia, California. He graduated from the Monrovia Arcadia Duarte High School class of 1950. Ben met and married the love of his life, Marion Elaine Moberly on July 1, 1978, in South Lake Tahoe, California. Ben enjoyed playing football in high school and college. He was offered a scholarship to play for USC while he was playing for Pasadena City College, where his team was Junior College National Champions, and he received several awards, including honorable mention as an All-American. Ben’s other pastime passion was automobile racing of all kinds. He especially loved drag racing, as he raced all over the west. This interest gave him a start to his early in life career where he helped build and manage the drag strip at Henderson, NV and Phoenix, AZ in Deer Valley. He later became a decorated Off-Road racer holding a number of classification titles and records. Ben was proud to serve his country as an officer in the “Secret Army” (ASA/NSA) from 1948 to 1955.
Ben and Marion eventually settled down in Pioche, NV where Ben became a counselor in the Lincoln County Detention Center. He retired in the mid 1990’s. Ben is survived by his caring wife, Marion, and preceded in death by both parents and his brother Jerry. Ben had requested to be cremated with no other services to be conducted, this has been entrusted to Southern Nevada Mortuary in Caliente, NV.