Judge Vernita Lee Bender

VALDOSTA - Judge Vernita Laverne Lee Bender, 49 of Valdosta, Georgia departed this life Monday, December 7, 2020 at South Georgia Medical Center. A Private Graveside Service will be held 11:00 AM, Saturday, December 12, 2020. Chaplain Sabrina Smith will be officiating with Dr. Jeff Christopher assisting. Judge Bender was born March 24, 1971 in Moultrie, Georgia the daughter of Horace Lee, Jr. and the late Ruth Alice Robie Lee. Judge Bender was a 1989 graduate of Colquitt County High School. She also graduated from the University of Georgia with a Juris Doctor degree in law. Judge Bender has been a Valdosta Municipal Court Judge for more than a decade. Before that, she served as a judicial clerk, legal counsel to a housing authority, solicitor of the Valdosta Municipal Court and assistant district attorney. She even had her own law practice prior to her appointment in August 2006. The Judicial Council of Georgia featured her as one of the state's most influential Black judges in 2016. She established a Mock Trial Program in Valdosta, a learning opportunity for students as they participate in a pretend trial inside the courtroom as a jury to determine guilt or innocence in cases. In 2015, Judge Bender was honored with a Special Recognition Award by the council of Municipal Court Judges for her work on the mock trial system. She was a board member of the Easter Seals Southern Georgia. She served on the Board of Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta. She was a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In her spare time, she enjoyed reading and traveling. She was preceded in death by her mother; and one brother, Randy Lamar Lee. She leaves to cherish her memory her devoted husband, Tonero Bender; two sons, Ethan Bender, Aidan Bender all of Valdosta, Georgia; father, Horace Lee, Jr. of Moultrie, Georgia; three brothers, Horace Jerome Lee, III (Patricia Ann) of Hahira, Georgia, Edward Leon Lee (JoAn) of Moultrie, Georgia and James Oliver Lee (Chanta) of Albany, Georgia; two sisters, Sarah Jordan (Curtis) of Moultrie, Georgia and Tytiarra Lee of Atlanta, Georgia; mother-in-law, Mildred Bender of Moultrie, Georgia; one brother-in-law, Darreck Bender (Vivian) of Westampton, New Jersey and a host of other relatives and friends in the Valdosta and Moultrie Community. Due to the COVID Pandemic the services will be private, however they will be Live Stream on Luke Strong And Son Mortuary Facebook page starting at 11:00 AM, Saturday, December 12, 2020. In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to Easter Seals Southern Georgia; 610 N. Patterson Street Ste A., Valdosta, Georgia 31601.

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Judge Vernita Lee Bender

March 24, 1971 - December 7, 2020