Aileen Bendler

Aileen Hayden Bendler, 93, passed away peacefully at her home on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, with her husband, daughter and son in law by her side. Born in Plainfield, she was the daughter of Bernard J. Hayden, Sr., and Mabel Jones Hayden. Aileen was a lifelong resident of Middlesex. She was a graduate of Bound Brook High School, Class of 1942. She played basketball in high school, and turned down the opportunity to go on to college and continue playing, in order to work in the family business, Hayden’s Florists. She began working at the flower shop at age twelve, and eventually became partners with her father and brother. She worked there for over sixty years, retiring in the early 1990s, but helped local florists whenever needed. Growing up, she loved biology class with Mr. Otis, and ice skating with her girlfriends. She and her friends would frequently skate on Willow Pond and along the Raritan River into Piscataway. During the years her daughter was in school, Aileen was a School Class Mother and Girl Scout Leader. During the summers she was a Girl Scout Camp Leader at Betsy Ross Campground. In later years she visited the campground for fourth of July celebrations as a member of the Washington Campground Association. Aileen loved arranging flowers, gardening, feeding the birds and squirrels, quilting, and giving gifts. She took great pride in wrapping her gifts, customizing each, and paying special attention to the tiniest of details. She loved to travel with Fred throughout America, and was particularly interested in the canyons out west and the Native American culture. She loved collecting Native American jewelry, crafts and blankets, and always donated to St. Joseph Indian School. She was a member of the Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, the Thursday Afternoon Circle, the Monday Morning Quilters, the Women’s Literary Club of Bound Brook, and was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow by the Bound Brook Rotary. Aileen was predeceased by her parents, and her brother, Bernard J. Hayden, Jr. She is survived by her husband of sixty-nine years, Fred Bendler; her daughter, Beth Ann Starr and her husband James; sister in law Maryann Petraitis Hayden; cousin Gordon Randolph and his wife Lee, and Paijong Laisakul, her second daughter and foreign exchange student in Bangkok,Thailand. Gathering with the family will be 2:00 - 4:00 and 7:00 - 9:00 P.M., Friday, December 15, at the funeral home. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, at the chapel in Bound Brook Cemetery. Interment at the cemetery will follow. Memorial donations may be made to the Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, Heifer International, or St. Joseph Indian School.