Lillian LaRue Ann Bender Sawyer – took her Savior’s hand on June 23, 2024: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” – Jeremiah 31:3
Lilli was born in McCook, NE on June 21st , 1932 to Virginia and Carl Bender. Due to the Great Depression, her parents moved to Oregon where her father opened a Plymouth dealership in Lake Oswego. After graduating from Grant High School in 1950, she took classes at Marylhurst College. She worked as a Bell telephone operator and at Tektronix in Beaverton in the early 1960s. After raising her children, she worked for the US Forest Service and the Hoodland Senior Center in Welches, living in Rhododendron for nearly 30 years.
She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior in her 20s and followed Him the rest of her life (John 3:16). She loved her family and animals, rescuing many dogs and cats.
Lilli is survived by her three children: Wade Johnson, Lyn (Christopher) Scott, Benjamin (Lori) Sawyer; grandchildren, Ryan, Hannah (Josh), Stuart, Ainsley, Jack, Timothy, Annie, and great grandson, River.
Our family would be grateful for any donation made in honor of Lilli to the Hoodland Senior Center. P.O. Box 508 Welches, OR 97067 or hoodlandseniorcenter.org
Lillian “Lilli” LaRue Ann Sawyer 1932–2024
