About Eli
Eli Simon Bender
November 4, 2018–June 13, 2025
Always in our hearts
Eli was born at Methodist hospital in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York on November 4, 2018.
His mother Sara Bender and father Evan Bender rushed there in a taxi around midnight; Eli was born a couple hours later – since it was just around the hour that daylight savings was ending, they can’t remember the precise time.
The three of them stayed in the hospital for a couple nights. The first album they played for Eli there was Rubber Soul. Soon enough they were allowed to trek home to their apartment in Windsor Terrace, on the other side of Prospect Park. They were greeted there by Lucy the dog, who, to be frank, was skeptical of the small interloper.
Eli grew and grew, and that first winter had many outings in the park, tucked into Evan or Sara’s jacket, or ensconced in his space-capsule-like stroller. Spring came and they all eventually learned how to sleep, and how to visit a cafe or restaurant in the neighborhood. Eli attended daycare on a block of Prospect Avenue where one of his great-great-grandfathers had once lived.
Sara and Evan decided they’d like some space to call their own, with a bit of a garden, so in the summer of 2019 they moved to a little brick rowhouse in Jersey City, New Jersey, a block from Hamilton Park. The day they moved was incredibly hot, and 9-month-old Eli sat in the shade with Lucy and his visiting Gram while Evan and Sara helped the movers.
Soon enough it was Eli’s first birthday, which he celebrated with grandparents and extended New Jersey family and chocolate cake. Not long after this he was learning to walk, and not long after that, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the entire world. Eli and his parents were lucky to have their little brick house with its garden, and for the next year they spent all their time together.
The world of social distance was very strange but Eli didn’t know much better. No more cafes or restaurants. Hikes with friends, walks in the park, exploring the Meadowlands for birdwatching spots. Eli grew and grew, got stronger and faster, got words.
He turned two. Covid still kept the social world outdoors. It snowed and Eli learned to play in it.
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