Dick D. Kessie

Dick D. Kessie was born to William H. and Wilda M. (Grable) Kessie on August 12, 1936 in Whitley County, Indiana. If coming of age during the Great Depression shaped the values of hard work and ingenuity among Americans, then Dick surely was a stand-out of his generation. He was fiercely devoted and lovingly driven to make life good for those around him.

Dick was the second youngest of 12 children growing up on the family farm. He and his next older brother Fritz did everything together and remained close throughout their lives. Farm life was the beginning of Dicks emersion into hard work, but he also enjoyed extra-curricular activities at school. After Etna-Troy Elementary School, Dick attended Larwill High School, where he acted in several school plays. He was lead in the Junior/Senior play and, unbeknown to him at the time, he was performing with his future wife, Carolyn Jane Boggs.

Dick graduated from Larwill High School in 1954 never having dated Carolyn, though he had known her since they were young. He was always impressed with Carolyn, but it wasnt until after high school that they first went on a date. Their relationship grew over the years as Dick became part of a family who owned the service station at the corner of Lincoln Way and 250 W. and had one of the first TVs in the area.

From high school, Dick went on to the International Barber College in Indianapolis. He and three others carpooled to the city every day, which was not so easy back-in-the-day when Interstate 69 had not been developed. After graduating, Dick became a barber and worked at Hammons Barber Shop in South Whitley from 1956 until 1968 when he opened his own place, Dick's Barber Shop in North Webster.

Dick and Carolyn married on June 9, 1957 at Troy Presbyterian Church in Columbia City, Indiana. They moved into a house that one of his older brothers had built on the family farm, which had been a starter home for several of his siblings.

By the time they became a family of six, Dick and Carolyn had moved a few miles to the Earl Hoover farm that they had bought. This venture increased Dicks work load considerably, but it was a family effort. They had cattle, pigs and a few ponies (Jed being the last), and they raised chickens for eggs. With family help, Dick built a coop to house 10,500 chickens, in part so his children would stay out of trouble and grow up learning to be responsible. He made sure they kept the coop so cleaneven dusting the light fixturesthat he could walk through barefooted and eat off the floor.

The familys daily farm routine started early with Dick sweeping the coop and the family collecting eggs in the morning and afternoon. In springtime, as Dick went off to his full time job and then barbering after, Carolyn and the kids prepared the fields for planting. After his other work, Dick got on the tractor and sometimes didnt return until after 11:00 at night. By his example and expectations, his children learned the rewards of work first-hand. They used time cards to track their hours and Dick paid them regularly, anywhere from a nickel to a quarter an hour.

In his professional and personal life, Dick was very organized. He liked structure and went by the book whether following directions himself or giving instruction to his children. However, family life was not all work and no play. For vacation, the Kessies often camped for several weeks at a time with Dicks brother Fritz and his family in a 3-room canvas tent with the children sleeping in the center room. One particular trip was a prime illustration of fun. Four adults and six children piled into one station wagon, pulling a homemade trailer with all their gear. They headed west to visit their brother Paul Bud in Washington State, traveling through 22 states and stopping at Yellowstone National Park. Most evenings, they pulled off to the roadside and set up camp, usually by a water source so kids could get wet and Dick and Fritz could fish. The two never went anywhere without rod and tackle, and that trip proved that making room for their gear really paid off. As it happened one evening, the fishermen hit the jackpot with the bluegills. Using only a dishwashing pan for a bucket, the brothers caught so many fish that by the time the kids emptied the pan back at the campsite, they returned to find enough fish to make another trip.

As if he wasnt busy enough, Dick took on several other responsibilities and hobbies. He volunteered for many organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House at PRMC and the Shriners, where he drove a van to take children and their families to doctors appointments and surgeries. He was elected to the Whitko Community School Board for eight years and served as president from 1972 to 1976. He was a former member and Deacon of Troy Presbyterian Church and current member at Columbia City United Methodist Church, Due Guard Masonic Lodge #278, Order Eastern Star, Mizpah Shrine AAOMS and Fort Wayne Scottish Rite. In addition to fishing and camping, Dick liked gardening and woodcraft. From his utterly spotless and well-organized woodworking shop, Dick built cabinets, shelves and more. They were mainly for family members and friends, but he and Carolyn often took the items to craft fairs. Setting up a nice display booth and selling his creations was an activity they could enjoy together. Additionally, they also liked watching sports and rarely missed a Pacers basketball game.

During his career, Dick was employed by J.M. Geberts and Sons Farm Supply in Larwill from 1972 to 1985, but he also owned his own spray trucks to spread the applications in the fields. Many evenings, he finished at Geberts only to come home and cut hair there. In the summer of 1986, Dick sold the family farm, but by then he had already begun to work at Fort Wayne Community Schools. He did maintenance work from 1985 to 2001, when he retired. He also earned a realtors license and sold his children their homes. Then he became a housing inspector for the Warsaw Housing Authority and HUD for Kosciusko and Elkhart Counties. He worked until August of 2014 when cancer returned that had started in his legs, then inflicted both lungs and finally his spine. Yet it was another incident that intervened and forced Dick to stop and take account. It was an accident that broke his lower leg when he was working on his daughters roof. Yet Dick credited God with showing him how to relax and slow down. During his convalescence, he became a reader and never stopped consuming books.

As his children flourished and started families of their own, Dicks main focus became his grandchildren. In everything they did, Pappy (as they called him) was very supportive. He watched them compete in sporting events and made it to as many games as he possibly could. As he had done with his own children, Dick taught his grandchildren the value of work. He showed them that picking up hickory nuts not only earned them a quarter per pail but also pride in accomplishment.

Quantity and quality time for the whole family happened on Dick and Carolyns 50th wedding anniversary. With their Indiana family they rented an RV to visit their son and his family in Cheyenne, Wyoming. None of them will forget what it was like with 18 of them in one RV, traveling into the Rocky Mountains and even entering a No RV Zone.

Dicks world changed forever on June 4th of 2011. His beloved Carolyn passed away just a few days before their 54th wedding anniversary. Dick chose to have her funeral on their anniversary date of June 9. The two reunited on June 1, 2015 when Dick passed away at 11:47 p.m. at his home with his family by his side. He will be laid to rest beside his wife on their 58th wedding anniversary.

Dick D. Kessie, 78, of Columbia City, Indiana, was a lifetime resident of Whitley County. He is survived by his daughters, Cerese R. (Jim) Brock and Terri A. (Chris) Clupper both of Columbia City; sons, Dennis P. (Aimee) Kessie of Braidwood, Ill. and Douglas D. (Tina) Kessie of South Whitley; brother, Carl "Fritz" (Joyce) Kessie of Columbia City; grandchildren, Emily (Jarod) Hammel, Abbey Brock, Justin (Jessica) Clupper, Tyler Clupper, Alexandra (Benjamin) Smith, Mason Kessie, Wyatt Kessie, Kayla (Ben) Buchanan, Joshua Kessie and Cole Kessie; great-grandchildren, Aiden Scott Buchanan, Caroline Clupper and Eli Clupper; and his beloved dog, Peanut. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Carolyn Jane Kessie in 2011; brothers, Ernest, Robert, Ralph, Paul, Bill and Jack Kessie; and sisters, Helen Johnson, Neva Spangler, Betty Gebert and Carol Kessie.

Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m., Monday, June 8, 2015 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City with a Masonic Twilight Service at 7:30 p.m. A Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at the funeral home with Pastor David Arnold officiating. Burial to follow at South Whitley Cemetery. Memorials may be given in his memory to Shriner's Chicago Hospital for Children, Ronald McDonald House or Parkview Whitley Home Health and Hospice.