North Vernon
Richard C. “Dick” Kage, 87, of North Vernon, passed away at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, 2016, at his home.
Funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 2, 2016, at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in North Vernon. The Rev. Adrian Krebs will officiate. Visitation will be from 4 until 8 p.m. Friday, April 1, 2016, at Sawyer-Pickett Funeral & Cremation Service in North Vernon. Burial will be in Vernon Cemetery.
Born in Reed City, Michigan, August 1, 1928, Dick was the youngest of the six children of August and Sylvia Kage.
He graduated from Petoskey High School in Petoskey, Michigan, in 1946 and attended Valparaiso University from 1948 to 1952.
On April 23, 1965, he married Alice JoAnn Corya at the home of Mrs. Kage’s parents. Dick and Alice were married 50 years in April of 2015.
He retired in March 1992 after 40 years of service with the State of Indiana. Dick was employed as assistant to the warden at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, from February 1952 until June 1957. He moved to North Vernon in 1957 where he was human resource director, assistant to the superintendent and superintendent on numerous occasions at Muscatatuck State Developmental Center. He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving in the United States and Japan in 1946-1947.
Dick was a charter member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church where he served in various capacities. In February 1991, Governor Evan Bayh awarded Dick the Sagamore of Wabash. He was a founder and first president of Jennings County United Fund, a founder and life member of the board of directors of Jennings Villa, a member of the board of directors of North Vernon Senior Housing, a member of the Elks Club and a charter member of the Rotary Club.
He served as a volunteer Jennings County juvenile and probation officer during the 1960s and 1970s. In January 2003, he was appointed to the State Employees Appeals Commission by Governor Frank O’Bannon and subsequently served as chairman of the commission.
He was an avid golfer and scored four holes-in-one after the age of 70. He was a member of the former Muscatatuck Country Club and a member of St. Anne’s Golf Course.
Survivors include his wife, Alice; a son, Bradley Kage, and his daughter-in-law, Kimberly, of North Vernon; a daughter, Victoria (Ken Gudino) Kage of LaPorte, Indiana; a brother-in-law, John Slater of Franklin, Tennessee; and two granddaughters, Allyson Kay and Emily Elizabeth Kage, both of Indianapolis.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Robert and Wilbert Kage; three sisters, Ruth Christopherson, Viola Levereng and Wilma Slater; and one grandson, Christopher Hallie Kage.
Memorials may be made through the funeral home to Lord of Life Lutheran Church, North Vernon Senior Housing or Schneck Hospice.
Friends are invited to light a candle or leave a message of condolence in Mr. Kage’s memory at www.sawyerfuneralservice.com.
