Aberdeen: Cyril Thomas "Tom" Bendorf, 88, passed away Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, at Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen. A funeral Mass for Tom will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Turton. Burial will be held at the church cemetery. A light reception will follow at St. Joseph's fellowship hall.
Schriver's Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 Fifth Ave. N.W., Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements. Friends may sign the online guestbook for Tom at schriversmemorial.com.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, at Schriver's Memorial Mortuary in Aberdeen. A rosary will be said at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Turton. Visitation will also be for one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Presentation Sisters, 1500 N. Second St., Aberdeen, SD 57401.
Tom was born to Cyril and Madeleine Bendorf on June 4, 1924, in Flagstaff, Ariz. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II as a fighter pilot and in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War; he retired as a major in the Air Force Reserve. He held bachelor's and JD degrees from the University of San Francisco and was a Coro Fellow in 1954. Tom had a long political career, working in city management in California and participating in many presidential campaigns. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1958 to assist Sen. Clair Engle and, during the administration of Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, was appointed Deputy Director of Finance for the state of California. Subsequently, he became a Washington, D.C., government representative for Lockheed Corporation and the state of South Carolina. Tom served as director of national affairs for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), eventually becoming its executive director. He was a member of the South Carolina Bar.
In 1984, Tom retired to Turton, where he enjoyed pheasant hunting and wide-open spaces. A master of networking before there was such a term, he was also an avid reader and is especially remembered for his storytelling.
Tom is survived by his sister, Margaret Callahan; 12 children: Heidi Bendorf, Tom (Linda) Bendorf, Karl (Pat Lacey) Bendorf, Marta (Mike) McGuire, Kristin (Phillip) Drlicka, Elin (Tim) Murphy, Peter (Consuelo) Bendorf, Kurt Bendorf, Karen (Jim) Hartpence, Gretchen Miller, Lise Tesch, Erik (Cindy) Bendorf; 22 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Muriel "Murley" Aschen Bendorf; sister, Martha Bendorf, SNJM; and grandson, Brian McGuire.