The steps dance recital this year was great!
We were sad, Even though we new you were watching us from above. A lot
of people were very touched after we perfomed the Tribute number, and
so was I. Thank you for being so wonderful while you still could, here
on Earth.
Giana Greco and Kelsey Zavadovics
6/25/06
Even though Kathryn is gone physically she
will always remain in our hearts
and her dancing will always be remembered. When she was dancing on
stage she would
always be smiling and having a great time. Kathryn Bender always had a
smile on her
face she cared about each and everyone of her students. We had a great
time with
Elizabeth Bender our ballet teacher. We knew that it was going to be a
great year
when Kathryn was our teacher, but we didn't get to enjoy Kathryn long
enough. We
will all miss you Kathryn Mary Bender.
Kathryn was a very talented 17 year old
girl. It breaks our hearts to see
her go.......
We will all miss you dearly Kathryn Mary
Bender
Sarah Fitch
7/14/06
Wow, I just watched the video clip of the
choir concert. Those girls did such an amazing job with that song,
Megan especially. When I heard it all I could think about was the 8th
grade talent show where Kathryn did a ballet solo to that song. She was
such a great dancer and whenever I hear that song I get the image of
her up on the stage at WJHS doing what she loved most.
Rebecca Rosenberg
8/1/06
All the summer workshops at Steps have come
to an end and not one of the
Dance Exploration workshops ended up going due to lack of enrollment. I
don't know
how I would have completed any of them because Kathryn was the one who
kept me calm
through those workshops last summer when we taught together and were
surrounded by
screaming children. She had the ability stay cheerful even through
those
frustrating times. I am so thankful she was there. It's another
testament to
Kathryn's strong character that she had all her life. She would have
been an
incredible teacher. She already impacted her ballet students from this
past year so
much within a matter of a few months- and I already learned lessons
from her on how
to teach my classes. I try to keep the same composure as Kathryn every
time I
teach.
I miss you, Kathryn.
Bender Family
8/12/06
To all of Kathryn's friends heading off to
college or starting your career,
We would like to wish all of you the very
best on this exciting journey in your
life. We know all the anxiety and excitement that Kathryn would be
feeling right
now and know all of you are feeling the same thing. You are taking a
big and
important step towards reaching your dreams. Reach for the stars for
you are all
wonderful! We know this for a fact because we saw how you responded to
losing
Kathryn this past November and throughout the rest of the year. Your
Commencement
Ceremony was a tribute to you as well as Kathryn. We were so proud to
be a part of
your special night.
We believe that you have someone special
watching over you. You touched her life
just like she touched yours. She will be with you on your future
journeys. For a
true friend is a friend forever.
You have a special place in our
hearts,
Doris, Elizabeth and Nicholas
Gabe Anderson
8/19/06
I was never blessed to be able to meet
Kathryn. I was told stories of her
wonderful personality and how everyone loved to be around her. The
dedication of
her older sister, brother and family is a testament on the impact she
left on
people's lives. The numerous fundraisers and book signings will offer
many children
the opportunity to be involed in the beautiful world of the dancing
arts. Seeing
the way Kathryn's memory is pulling people together and strengthening
those who knew
and loved her, has helped me with my own loss of a close friend in
Iraq. Thank You
for allowing me just a small chance to listen to the stories and
memories of
Kathryn.
SGT Gabriel Anderson
US Army
Elizabeth Bender
8/31/06
I haven't submitted a guestbook entry yet
because I never quite knew what I
would say, but tonight as I sit hear re-reading all of the past
entries, I cry,
realizing how many stories have been shared and how many wonderful
memories I have
to share as well. These are only very few special moments I shared with
my little
sister, but I remember each of them as if they were yesterday.
* I remember sharing a room with you and
when we were younger we would play our bed
games. Crazy little games that I would make up to make you laugh. (You
know exactly
what I'm talking about Kat).
* Singing you to sleep with the "I love you" song or "the song that
never ends" from
lamb-chop.
* We can't forget the "listen to the music" dream and the story of me
forgetting
how to spell the number three!
* When I wanted to read at night, you always complained because I
turned on the
light while you were trying to sleep. I eventually became a pro at
sneaking in and
out of a dark, quiet room while you were sleeping and not wake you
up.
* Standing next to each other looking in the mirror, then at each
other, saying we
didn't see how we even remotely looked alike.
* Cooking randomly in the middle of the night whether it was
mac-n-cheese, cookies
or your wonderful brownies you made with the Sam's Club mix!
* Nicholas and I purposely making you laugh at the dinner table while
you were
drinking and you spitting milk out of your mouth all over the place.
This happened
on more than one occasion.
* Starting Monopoly games as late as 2am after I flew home from ASU.
You just
wanted to do whatever I wanted so you could spend time with me...I love
you.
* Swimming in Auntie's pool belting out our infamous songs from Sound
of Music and
Lion King. Let's not forget when Christine was in town and all of us
were outside
in the pool singing Found A Peanut and There Were Three Jolly
Fishermen.
* When you came down to U of I with me for that week last summer with
Casey, our
puppy. We went to Murphy's and I got you to drink a few adult beverages
while
teaching you drinking card games.
* Speaking of drinking...when you called me many of times in the
morning hours and
left me quite funny voicemails about how I better not be at the bar's
yet because it
was only 10am!
* Endless conversations on the phone and at the end of our hours of
talking, not
knowing what we talked about at all.
* The penché incident in ballet class..."Sorry girl, they
still think it was you!"
* The brown poop costume with all those sparkles that stuck on our
bathroom floor
for months! A few days before you were gone, I remember you standing in
front of
the mirror trying on that costume for me and saying with all
seriousness, "I look
like a big turd." I laughed hysterically!
The last time I saw you, Kathryn, I was
getting out of bed and you were still
sleeping, peaceful and beautiful...oh so peaceful and beautiful.
You were my best friend and you always will
be. No
one can take your place. One of the things that hurts me the most, is
the fact that not only will I be
missing my dad at my wedding, but my maid of honor now too. But the
fact is that I
know that you will both be there with me, not only then, but for every
special moment
for the rest of my life.
Thank you Lord, for blessing me with a
sister who was an angel. Although I was the
older sister, I learned more from her in 17 years than anyone could
have learned in
a lifetime. She taught me how to be a better person, to be more like
her.
This I promise you Kathryn: I will think of
you and miss you everyday and I will
live my life sharing happiness and smiles just like you have taught me.
My only
hope is that I will be able to touch half as many lives in my whole
lifetime as you
did in 17 years.
How do I possibly say goodbye forever to
someone who is not only a sister, but a
best friend? I have decided that saying goodbye forever is not an
option, so I'll
say goodbye for now; only with knowing that you are not really gone,
but closer to
me than ever before.
I love you.
Nicholas Bender
9/8/06
One year ago this weekend, Naperville North
was performing the show Angels
Fall. Kathryn was one of two girls in the show and had a major impact
on the success
of the production.
I would sometimes pick Kathryn up from
rehearsals. This is how just about everyone
of those rides went: I'd pick her up, she'd get in the front seat, I'd
say "hey,"
she'd say "hey," and we wouldn't say anything else to each other the
rest of the
ride home. I guess this was just the big brother-little sister
relationship we had.
Now, everytime I'm alone in my car and I pass North on my way home...I
look at the
empty passenger's seat next to me and still say "hey."
I remember when Kathryn found out that the
show would be adjudicated to go down
state. She was worried but excited. I remember one day that I was
reading lines
with her. We were just sitting in our living room working on memorizing
her first
page, when I decided to help her come up with some character choices. I
had her
walking around our living room trying to find out how she thought her
character
would walk. I had her thinking about where her character was coming
from and what
she wanted. She gave me a couple 'this is stupid' looks, and I would
just say to
her, "How good do you want to be?" We'd smile at each other and she'd
start
practicing again. When my own acting exercises and experiences feel
stupid or
difficult, I can just imagine her asking me, in her sarcastic tone,
"How good do you
want to be?"
She had one scene in which she had to really
yell at her husband in the show. And
since Kathryn never yelled at anyone, she was having a hard time with
that scene.
Once again, I was reading those lines over and over with her. I
remember reading
them and trying to give her the motivation to yell at me. I made her
stand up on the
other side of the room and yell them at me. She made a huge step in the
right
direction in our living room that day and on stage it worked
beautifully.
Before shows I taught her a breathing
excercise I had learned to help control her
nerves. And of course, following my tradition, eating a cheeseburger
before every
show helped too.
The run of the show was awesome and even
though I was probably her toughest critic,
she impressed me and I was so proud of her.
The show was chosen to perform at the
all-state convention in January and the cast
performed the show in her honor.
Everyone that ever knew Kathryn, now knows
that angels do fall. One fell to us on
April 15th, 1988, rose up on November 20th, 2005 and will live on
forever in the
memories of those she touched.
Kristin Malley
9/11/06
Unfortunatly, I didn't know Kathryn well. She was always "Nick Benders
little sister" to me. Looking at this site and remembering her, it was always her
smile on stage in the musicals that come to mind. She always lit up the stage with
her singing and dancing, how so many of us actors tried to do. It was simple for
her.
Mr. Burghardt called me personally when Kathryn
passed away, as all of us "Laramie"
kids are connected through him. He had so many beautiful and kind
things to say. Of her talent, her love for life, and her vivaciousness.
Maybe two weeks before he
called, my mom was in a near-fatal car accident. It shook me so hard.
When I found
out just days later that Kathryn was gone, it broke my heart to think
that my mom
was still with me when the Bender's had lost their little girl. I still
connect the
two incidents in my heart and when I pray to God thanking him for
saving my mom, I
also pray for him to watch over Kathryn.
I saw Nick on Saturday out here in LA. The first time in probably three years. All
day I tried to muster up the courage to talk to him about it. But just couldn't. I
also didn't have the heart to give him the card I bought and wrote but never sent.
To the whole Nick Bender family, I am so sorry for your loss. Kathryn was a shining star
and will live in all of our hearts forever!