NASHVILLE
David Michael “Mike” Dickey, 72, longtime resident of Brown County, Indiana, died Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 21, 2017, at Brown County Health and Living Community following a hard-fought battle with cancer. His final hours were spent with immediate family by his side.
Mike was born July 1, 1945, in Columbus, Indiana, to Ruby (Tracy-Dickey) Christie and Kenneth E. Dickey. He was preceded in death by his parents and his loving, longtime stepfather, Robert Eugene Christie.
Mike was descended from many early Brown County settlers. His lineage can be traced to the family of William and Elizabeth (Walker) Murphy who resided on their property, where presently stands the Unity Church and Cemetery, before “Brown County” was created from portions of Bartholomew, Monroe and Jackson counties. The Murphy family was enumerated in an 1820 Monroe County census on the aforementioned property which, in 1835, became part of the newly formed Brown County, Indiana. Two of his other ancestral families include those of Joshua and Hannah (Coultas) Tracy and Riley and Elizabeth (Jones) Gordon. The Tracys and the Gordons arrived in Brown County in the 1860s.
At age 19, Mike joined the United States Navy where he was stationed in Keflavik, Iceland, and served as an Aviation Machinist Mate and aircraft and engine mechanic.
Following service to his country, he worked primarily as a service technician. Companies he served included Cummins Engine, Allis Chalmers and Heatec. His many years of work took him all over the world including 49 of the 50 states and the countries of Venezuela, Brazil, Diego Garcia, Panama and Kazakhstan. In his retirement, he worked part-time at Brown County Recycling.
His passions and interests included his family, genealogy, automobile racing, history and firearms. He was a lifelong Jimmy Buffet fan and he absolutely adored his twin grandchildren, Martina and Delaney. Mike was recently baptized at Nashville United Methodist Church where his family has worshiped since 1955.
Survivors include his current wife, Judy (Connell-Taylor) Dickey of Nashville; former wife, Rosalie (Crowell-Jackson-Dickey) Lane of Bedford; daughters, Tracy (Dickey-Johnson) Sheets (Delmar) of Bedford and Robin Jackson (Kent Clark) of Indianapolis; son, Ross Jackson; twin granddaughters, Martina and Delaney Sheets; and an abundance of cousins of multiple generations.
Visitation was to be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Bond-Mitchell Funeral Home, 1682 State Rd. 135 North, Nashville, IN 47448. The funeral service will to be at 11 a.m. at the funeral home on Wednesday, Nov. 29, preceded by one hour of visitation. The Rev. Mary Wilder Cartwright, Nashville United Methodist Church, will lead the service. Burial will be in Nashville’s Greenlawn Cemetery, the resting place of many family members. Lunch for family and friends will follow at Nashville United Methodist Church provided by the United Methodist Women.
Special thanks to the staff at Columbus Regional Health and Simon Cancer Center whom Mike considered his “A-Team.” We will always hold you close in our hearts. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to Columbus Indiana Regional Health Foundation (support.foundation.crh.org).
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.BondMitchellFuneralHome.com.
