For the boy’s name, I had one idea and he had another. I suggested Philip and Wesley wasn’t sold on it. I just asked if we could run it by Jackson. We were in the car driving to Nashville and I told Jackson to say “Philip”
His reply: “Brother’
That’s all it took to sell Wesley on the name Philip!!
After we settled on Philip, Wesley reminded me that Philip was also his grandfather’s name. Wesley wasn’t that close to him and I never had the opportunity to meet him, but it was still neat that our little boy would share names with his great-grandfather.
This weekend while Jack and Lynne were in town, I decided it was time I found out about the original Philip Bender.
Saturday night after we put Jackson down, I asked Jack to tell me about his dad. I am so glad we had this time to share stories about the original Philip Bender.
Jack shared about his upbringing in Downy, California with his parents – Philip and Velda. He told about his move after high school to Abilene. After college, Jack never returned to live close to his parents but when he and Lynne were settled in Atlanta right before Wesley was born, Phil and Velda moved to Atlanta where they stayed until Jack’s mom passed away.
During our conversation, Jack shared all about his father. It was a very colorful story and not the traditional story like others in our family have. It was fascinating though to hear what this World War 2 veteran went through during his life.
The last thing Jack said that was then echoed by Lynne was that Philip Bender was a man of integrity. Wow! You can use a lot of words to describe a man, but what a strong testimony to their character to say they were known to be a man of their word.
Hearing that made me so glad we have chosen to name our newest blessing Philip Bender. He will know that his name carries with it the idea of integrity and that is a wonderful characteristic to be known for!
Phil and Velda Bender 
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