David E. Lotter

On January 26th, 1957 in Columbia City, Indiana, David Earl Lotter was welcomed into the world as the first son born to Earl Paul Lotter and mother, Kathleen Lucille (Rider) Lotter. He was taken to the familys home on Chauncey Street to three sisters, Vicky, Tammy and Debbie. Sister Vicky didnt want to keep him and wanted to send him back. It was a done deal. She had to keep him so the girls dressed him up in their doll clothes and pushed him around in their baby buggy.

Daves father died in 1959 and his mother remarried in 1961 to William (Bill) Smith. Soon, there were two other siblings that joined the family, Tonya and Doug plus 2 children Holy and Mickey Smith from a previous marriage for Bill. Doug did not miss his turn wearing doll clothes and being pushed in a buggy by now, four sisters. Dave always did his very best to protect his brother Doug from his sisters antics.

Growing up, Dave enjoyed ice skating, fishing at Big Lake, hunting, and playing football. He was a hard worker and grew up on the family farm. Besides working in the fields and bailing hay with his family, he also worked at Johnsons Strawberry Farm. At the age of 16, his mother passed suddenly. His step-father, who he knew only as Dad, would remarry the next year in 1974 to Mrs. Nancy Wagner. She brought two additional children into the family.

Dave graduated from Central Noble High School at mid-term in 1975. He took a bus down to Indianapolis on his own, without telling anyone where he was going and joined the Air Force.Basic training was done at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and later Dave was assigned the task of defending the nations missile silos in Montana at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

While visiting his sister Tammy and husband Steve in Crown Point, Indiana, he was set up with a blind date with Tammys neighbors sister. Dave took Jane Marx to see Jaws. On the way home, they ended up necking in a corn field and the rest was history.

Dave and Jane were married and together they had two children, Abby Marie and Jarid David Lotter. In 1996, Jane and Dave divorced. Dave and his children spent a lot of cherished time with his sister Tammy and her family. The families shared many laughs and a life time of memories were made.

Through a friend, Dave connected with Kathleen Winchester. His sisters are sure to this day that he arranged to have Kate meet them in Orlando, Florida when Dave and his sisters and cousin Jen were going on a cruise to the Bahamas. Dave denied it and said it was just a coincidence even though they thought it was odd that Dave arranged his own booking with a state room with a queen bed for him and Jen. They all had such a grand time on that cruise!

Dave and Kate married on September 4th, 2004 in Churubusco, Indiana. They have been married 12 years, shared many memories, took grand adventures with family and friends and most recently took their own grand adventure on an Alaskan Cruise.

Family meant the world to Dave as well as his friends. He loved his work and felt that what he did at Zimmer-Biomet was his contribution in making other peoples life worth living. He also had previously worked at Brinks, Group Dekko, CA Tool, Accutemp, Atwood Mobile and was a former co-owner of American Reel.

Dave was one to always enjoy a good laugh. You had to watch what he told you at times thought because he was known to sometimes embellish a story or two or tell it from his perspective. He loved adventure. He loved driving fast in his old red Jeep he named Betsy. The jeep was finally replaced after 240,000 miles with a new Terrain that went fast and gave him the thrill of the road.

So many pinochle games were played with Steve, Kent, Dan, Andy, Nick, Dad, Nancy, Doug, George, Mary, Jim and Aunt Orpha. At the end, Dave wanted Kent to know that he thought Kent was the best pinochle player hes ever played with. He wanted to thank the Parkison family for including him and his family in their lives and making him part of their family. There were many fishing vacations from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Rice Lake in Ontario, Canada with Jane, Jarid and Abby, then with Kate, Jarid and Abby and of course, sister Tammy, Steve, and his nephews Andy, Dan and Nick.

Dave and his brother Doug got into their share of mischief as well over the years. On one particular fishing trip in Southern Indiana, Dave hooked his line in a tree and while trying to free the line, he capsized their boat, sending both of them and their fishing equipment into the water. This was something Doug would not let Dave forget. In the past year, Doug has been the best brother anyone could have. Hes helped Dave and Kate any way he could and then some. Running into the downspout and corner of the house with the snow plow wasnt planned but Dave understood how shit sometimes just happens.

Dave made road trips to South Carolina to spend Thanksgivings with his sister Debbie and her family. He made surprise visits to his sister Vicky in Tennessee. He was on the road with his sister Tammy coming home from one of those visits the day his hero, Dale Earnhart died. They heard it on the radio driving through Cincinnati and the rest of the trip was a quiet ride home.

There were road trips with his children to Hershey, Pennsylvania and Charleston and Arizona and California. They had a helicopter police search follow them one time because Dave was driving a red Jeep, just like the one the police was searching for. He rather liked the thought of being in the getaway car.

There were many road trips to Tennessee where he and Kate rented cabins in the mountains with family and friends. His sister Vicky, husband Mike and nephew Michael and his family were able to come and spend time with him and Kate and enjoy the breath taking view that so many take for granted. His friend Victor and wife Gertha were able to join him and Kate on one grand adventure to Tennessee and that meant a lot to Dave. He went white water rafting with his children and nephews in North Carolina. He rode down a mountain at Mammoth Cave on a sled with his nephew Nick and Dave crashed and hurt himself. You knew it wasnt good when he tossed his sister Tammy the keys to his new Jeep. That one is a memory for life.

Abby and Jarid were able to share in his love for Tennessee with their Dad and Kate as well. Dave loved sitting on the deck in the mornings as the sun came up over the mountains and in the evenings, as the sun set. He also love to sit around the bonfire in his back yard.

Just before Christmas, Dave called Tammy from Cleveland Hospital to see if she could help him make Kate canvas prints from his photos from Alaska. He wanted to give that to both of them for Christmas. Dave and Tammy made it happen. He wanted to leave Kate with memories of the best trip of their life.

His sister Holly was able to come from Texas to Indiana to finally meet Dave and the rest of her family.That meant so much to him.

Dave and sister Tonya had a special bond. Her son, Clint passed away in 2012 and during the time of Clints illness, Dave gave Clint and himself memories of fireworks and family time.

After many years, Dave made a connection with his Kentucky family. He loved his Aunt Mary as no other could love. Her last words to him were, Put your pedal to the meddle and stay on the left side of the road. He told her he would.

Dave planned on having the last word because the sisters had bossed him his whole life. December 30th was his sister Vickys birthday. They were going to celebrate her birthday together. On December 29th, as Dave was leaving his family, he seemed to be waiting on someone or something. The family decided he was waiting for Vickys birthday. So, they all gathered around his bed and through tears and heartache sang happy birthday to Vicky. His son Jarid and daughter Abby sang him a lullaby he had written himself for them as children and with a final sigh, Dave left this world and went home to his mom.

Dave had attended Churubusco United Methodist Church and was a member of Sugar Grove Church of God where he sang in the Praise Team. With his love of fishing, Dave took every opportunity to fish and even made some of his own items in his tackle box. He enjoyed the outdoors, sitting with his family by the bonfires, building a swing or tree fort for his children, cutting firewood, and mowing the lawn every Saturday morning. As much as he enjoyed the outdoors, Dave did enjoy watching movies.

Dave was always there for his family and they truly meant everything to him. He coached his son in t-ball, baseball and became an assistant coach when Jarid started playing football in middle school. When someone in the family needed a tree cut down, he sure was to be there, even if it meant taking Jarid with him down to his sister Vickys in Tennessee and almost dropping a tree on her husband Mike.

This was just an inkling of who Dave Lotter was. There is so much more and not enough words to tell you how loved he was and how deeply he will be missed. Dave leaves all of us with many memories, shared laughs, sad times and good times. He will be so deeply missed by family and friends. Daves motto was, Go Big or Go Home. Dave has went home because he couldnt go big anymore.

The sun has set for our husband, brother and friend, Dave Lotter. He will not be forgotten and he will certainly be missed.

David E. Lotter, 59, of Churubusco, passed away at 5:25 p.m. Thursday, December 29, 2016 at the Cleveland Clinic after being diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension and having an allergic reaction to the steroids.

Survivors include his wife, Kate Lotter; children, Abby Marie (Mike) Weber, of Churubusco and Jarid David Lotter, of Churubusco; sisters, Tammy (Steve) Parkison, of Crown Point, Tonya (Bob) McKay, of Syracuse, Vicky (Mike) Tallent, of Maryville, Tenn., Deb (Jeff) Zickafoose, of Albion and Holly Brooks, of Texas; and brothers, Doug J. Smith of Columbia City and Mickey Smith, of Florida; and three grandsons, Auden, Emmett and Zeke.

He was preceded in death by his father, Earl Lotter; mother, Kathleen Smith; step-parents, William H. Smith and Nancy Wagner Smith; brother, Tim Wagner; niece, Melissa Parkison and nephews, Clint Collier, Jon Lotter Zickafoose and Christopher Parkison.

Visitation is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with Pastor Tim Grable officiating. Burial to follow at Greenhill Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be given in his memory to Make A Wish Foundation or the Cleveland Clinic Pulmonary Hypertension Institute. To read Daves life story or to send family condolences, visit www.demoneygrimes.com .