alice marie bender
born 1958
Life Story
A Life Remembered in the Community of Newton County
Early Life and Family
Alice Marie Bender was born on December 31, 1958, and grew up in the rural community of Lawrence in Newton County, Mississippi. She was the daughter of Nelson B. “N.B.” Bender and Christine Alice McNair Bender, members of a well-known family in the Lawrence area.
Alice was raised in a large extended family that remained closely tied to the community through church, school, and civic activities. She was a member of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, where many families in the Lawrence and Newton communities worshiped and participated in church life.
Her childhood and teenage years were spent in a period when community life in Newton County revolved heavily around local schools, churches, and youth organizations, and Alice was actively involved in each of these areas.
Youth Activities and 4-H Participation
As a young girl, Alice participated in the Lawrence Community 4-H program, where she took part in educational activities focused on nutrition and home skills.
A newspaper article reported that eighteen young people in the Lawrence community completed several hours of instruction in foods and nutrition training, learning about:
- the basic four food groups
- proper measurement of ingredients
- preparing foods such as chocolate milk and instant pudding
- proper table setting and healthy eating habits
Alice was listed among the youth who participated in these activities along with several other young people from the area, including members of the Evans, Whitehead, and Bender families.
Programs like these were an important part of rural youth development during the 1960s and 1970s and helped prepare young people for responsibilities at home and in their communities.
Newton High School Years
Alice attended Newton High School, where she was actively involved in several school activities during the mid-1970s.
She was a member of the Newton High School Tigerettes girls’ basketball team, playing alongside teammates such as Virginia Lockhart and Brenda Hillie. Newspaper reports from the period record her participation in games and team lineups, and she contributed to the team during several contests.
Her efforts on the court were recognized at the Newton High School Athletic Banquet, where she received the award for Girls Basketball Best Defensive Player—an honor that reflected her strong defensive play and dedication to the team.
Alice also participated in the B.I.C. (Because I Care) Club, a student organization involved in the school’s Drug Education Program. Members of the club worked with elementary students, teaching lessons about decision-making, self-confidence, and the dangers of drug use through discussions, skits, and group activities.
School Honors and Activities
In addition to athletics, Alice took part in several traditional high school events.
She was selected as a Junior Maid on the Newton High School Homecoming Court, representing her class during the school’s homecoming celebration. According to a newspaper report, her afternoon escort was Oliver Crowther and her night escort was Nathaniel Gray.
Alice was also listed among the contestants in the Newton High School Beauty Pageant, which was held in the school auditorium and featured students from across the school.
These activities reflected her active involvement in student life and her connection to classmates and community events.
Graduation
Alice Marie Bender graduated from Newton High School in 1976 as part of the school’s senior class. Her name appears among the students listed in the graduation announcements published in the local newspaper.
For many young people in Newton County during this time, graduation marked the transition from school into adult life within the community.
Life in the Lawrence Community
Following her school years, Alice continued to live in the Lawrence community of Newton County, where records show her residence along Route 1 in the Lawrence area.
Public address records list her living in Lawrence through the 1980s, indicating her continued ties to the community where she was raised.
Friends and family remembered Alice as a beautiful young woman whose life was intertwined with the people and places of Newton County.
Disappearance
In the late 1980s, Alice Marie Bender disappeared under circumstances that remain unclear. Despite the passage of many years, her whereabouts have never been determined, and no confirmed information about what happened to her has been publicly documented.
Her disappearance left a lasting mystery for those who knew her and for members of the Lawrence and Newton communities.
Legacy
Although her life story remains incomplete, Alice Marie Bender is remembered through the records of her youth—her school activities, her athletic achievements, her participation in community programs, and her presence in the church and community where she grew up.
These small but meaningful pieces of history preserve the memory of a young woman who was once an active part of the life of Newton County.
Her name remains part of the history of the community that raised her, and those who remember her continue to hold her in their thoughts and memories.
Resting Place
Unknown
Photos/Albums
Sources
- U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
- U.S., Index to Public Records, 1994-2019
- U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999
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