Carl Dennis Bender, 71, of Cedarville passed away Thursday, May 10, 2018 in a local hospital. He was a contractor/builder and owner of Bender Built Construction. He was a U.S. Army Veteran and a member of the First Baptist Church in Van Buren. He was preceded in death by his parents Carl Louis and Inez (Nation) Bender.

Funeral services will be 10 AM Thursday May 17, 2018 at First Baptist Church in Van Buren with burial following at Fort Smith National Cemetery with military honors under the direction of Ocker Funeral Home in Van Buren.

He is survived by his wife Phyllis of the home; two sons, Carl Bender and his wife Amy, and John Bender and his wife Charity all of Van Buren; one sister Dottie Nigh of Van Buren; three grandchildren Josh Bender, Sara Bender and Zane Bender.

Family will visit with relatives and friends Wednesday, May 16, 2018 from 6-8 PM at Ocker Funeral Home in Van Buren 700 Jefferson Street Van Buren.

Pallbearers will be Josh Bender, Carl Bender, John Bender, Wes Trout, Richard Rogers and Wayne Waggoner.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Zane Bender, Rick Bruton, Billy Graham, Bill Vickery, Jim Lockhart, Don Smith, Claude Eubanks, Danny Parker and Robert Hinton.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Gideons International Processing Center, PO Box 97251 Washington D.C. 20090-7251 or to Arkansas Children’s Hospital PO Box 2222 Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-9984.