Birth date: Aug 14, 1929 Death date: May 25, 2025
BENDER, Dollie E. August 14, 1929 - May 25, 2025 Dollie was born Dollie Eileen Jones on August 14, 1929, in Bellevue, Ohio, to Clayton Jones and Miriam (Wollenslegel) Jones. She grew up in Bellevue, Cincinnati, and Sylvania, Oh Read Obituary
Thank you for an amazing sewing box ill treasure forever. -Amy
My Mother, Dollie Bender, is the greatest because...
She was too young to get married. And much too young to have a baby. But everyone makes mistakes and I was her first. She tried to make the best of her marriage. But everyone has failures and this marriage was her first.
She made the decision not only to have her first child but to keep and rear her to the best of her ability. At twenty she was a divorced working mother of a two-year-old, long before it was popular. Life was not always rosy but she looked at her child as a source of pride and pleasure, not as a millstone around her neck.
And we survived, my Mom and me. We are closer than most, I think, because we had to depend a lot on each other. As I read articles about abortion and giving kids up for adoption, I thank God for my Mom!
Linda Bolyard, Daughter
About 40 years ago
Printed in the Toledo, Ohio, Catholic Chronical
My dearest Dollie! It was a pleasure serving you for the past 30yrs or so. You were ALWAYS one of my favorite clients. As is Linda! Oh how you made me laugh! The world is truly sadder without you here. Fly high sweet Angel! I’ll bet you’re frolicking with Bud as we speak! ♥️
While COVID isolated some families, it brought the Jones family back together. Spearheaded by Niece Traci Howerton, all Dollie’s siblings- Carole, Bill, Alice, and Vicki started holding family Zoom calls. Children, nieces, and nephews joined many times, and the calls continued through 2025, long after COVID restrictions were halted.
Years ago, Dollie, Vincent, Bill, and Carole traveled together to Mackinac Island. Years later, they still laugh about booking the wrong hotel, getting too small a rental, and locking the keys in the rental car before they even left on the trip!
The calls were a great time to reconnect and reminisce about growing up together in the Jones household and the wonderful holidays spent together in Livonia.
Although at twenty-five years her junior, youngest sister Vicki has very few memories of growing up with Dollie, she was able to reconnect with her over their shared love of famous author J. A. Jance, sharing monthly newsletters and the newest book releases, as well as holiday pop-up cards, which Dollie enjoyed displaying on her windowsill.
