Robert “Bob” L. Pender

Robert “Bob” Louis Pender, 78, 01/26/1936 – 02/27/2014 son of Louis and Louise Burns Pender of Chicago, IL, passed away February 27, 2014 at Sanford Health’s Palliative Care in Fargo.

Bob was born and raised in Chicago, IL, spending summers with family in Shawnee, OK. After high school, he served in the US Navy. He graduated with his bachelors and masters degrees from Memphis State University and with a PhD in English from Indiana University. Bob was a consummate learner: he learned to figure skate as an adult in his thirties and taught himself Japanese. In 1973, he married his wife, Chieko, in Osaka, Japan. Since then, he traveled extensively to Japan with his family and taught English at the Osaka YMCA and Minnesota State University campus in Akita, Japan. He was a fixture at MSUM, teaching English there for 33 years. After his retirement in 1994, he pursued his passions for cooking, ballroom dance, bridge club, and his grandchildren.

He is survived by his wife, Chieko, of over 40 years; daughters, Anna Rune Storesund of Kensington, CA and Kim Justin Parta of Little Canada, MN; grandchildren, Katherine Parta, Ronan Storesund, and granddaughter due in May; sister, Karen Ralph Kenton of Sunnyvale, CA and nieces and nephew.

Memorial Service: Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. in Wright Funeral Home, Moorhead, MN.

Memorial Gathering: One hour before the service.