Background
Bend was born in Poplar Point, Manitoba, the son of Justice of the Peace Bend (who unsuccessfully ran for the Manitoba legislature in 1927 and 1932 as a Conservative) and Annie Ada Wilson.
Bend was born in Poplar Point, Manitoba, the son of Justice of the Peace Bend (who unsuccessfully ran for the Manitoba legislature in 1927 and 1932 as a Conservative) and Annie Ada Wilson.
The younger Bend received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba, taught school and later worked as a school principal. He later received a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Manitoba.
In 1938, Bend married Laura Kathleen Fisher. Politics
In 1949, Bend was elected to the Manitoba legislature for the riding of Rockwood. The Progressive Conservatives left the governing coalition in 1950, but Bend continued to support the government of Liberal-Progressive Premier Douglas Campbell.
He scored an easy re-election in 1953, this time running as an "Independent Liberal-Progressive".
On January 25, 1955, he was named Minister of Health and Public Welfare in the Campbell government. Defeat and retirement
The following year, however, he was defeated by Tory candidate George Hutton.
Bend represented the rural, conservative wing of the Liberal Party, and was unable to reach an urban audience (the party"s decision to use a "cowboy" theme in the 1969 campaign was little help on this front). Bend himself was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Harry Enns in the riding of Lakeside (which Campbell had previously held for 47 years).
He stepped down as Liberal leader shortly thereafter, and did not seek provincial office again.
Bend subsequently returned to the education field, serving as superintendent of a rural school division. He died at Rosewood Lodge in Stonewall at the age of 85. Bend spent 50 years as a baseball umpire and was inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hale of Fame in 1997.
There is currently an "R.W. Bobby Bend School" in Stonewall, Manitoba.
Bend remained out of active political life for the next decade. The selection of Bend proved to be a strategic error for the party.