Bunch
A two-term Columbus City Council member who set aside his own health problems for years to help others has died.
Dascal Bunch, 68, Columbus, who served two terms as a councilman, died Sunday morning at the Franklin Meadows Senior Care and Nursing Home. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Kylee Jones.
In November, Bunch had developed a case of influenza, Jones said. Shortly before last Christmas, he was admitted into the Franklin facility for rehabilitation.
But due in part to complications caused by diabetes, he was never able to regain his strength and his health continued to deteriorate, Jones said.
Services are being arranged by Myers-Reed Funeral Home and family members are requesting that the funeral be conducted at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Jones said.
According to Jones, her father’s legacy will likely be the work he did to get his district “finally put on the map,” Jones said. While she said her father’s constituents may not be the most affluent, Bunch worked hard to ensure District 1 was considered a valuable community asset.
An honor roll student at Columbus High School who graduated in 1972, Bunch was employed by a number of companies in and near Columbus as a tool engineer. He worked for the logistics department at Cummins, Inc. before he retired.
As a volunteer, Bunch served on the reserve unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department. He also became a financial faith counselor for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, as well as a member of the church’s care ministry.
Bunch had a passion and a strong knowledge of the game of basketball. In fact, he coached for 38 years and had been recruited as the boys’ basketball varsity assistant coach at Columbus East High School. Bunch also coached younger players at both Richards Elementary and St. Peter’s schools, according to his son, Jordan Bunch.
The diabetes was first diagnosed in the mid-1990s. It would eventually cause Bunch to lose sight in his right eye, as well as suffer damage to both kidneys. He would eventually be given a new kidney from his son, Jordan, during a six-hour surgery.
In 2011, Bunch succeeded Democrat Priscilla Scalf by winning the District 1 Columbus City Council seat. The district contains the city’s southeast portion that many call ‘East Columbus’ – the formal name it had before being annexed into Columbus in 1946.
“I grew up in East Columbus and feel that I can relate to those in my district – whether it is the hard times that have fallen upon us, community development, or education,” Bunch said during his first campaign.
Council member and fellow Republican Frank Miller says that wasn’t just political rhetoric.
“Dascal really cared for the people in his district, and it showed,” Miller said. “He worked hard in trying to represent his constituents, and I applaud him for that.”
Over the next eight years, Bunch would support several projects that include the State Street Corridor plan, the smoking ban, an ordinance addressing abandoned cars and a program to clean up neighborhoods throughout the city.
As a councilman, he served on the Columbus Housing Authority, as a member of the council’s Capital Improvements Committee, and as liaison to both the Animal Care Commission and the Parks and Recreation Board.
“You always saw him coming to those meetings, whether it was on crutches or a wheelchair,” Miller recalled. “He never let his health keep his passion for his hometown from showing.”
“Dascal took his job as a city councilman very seriously,” said Beth Turner, board president with the America and Roby Anderson Community Center. “He wanted to help everyone. Dascal became the ‘go-to’ person when you couldn’t get answers from anybody.”
In 2015, Bunch won a second term on the council by defeating then-Democrat Chris Rutan.
In 2016, he became the subject of an investigation into accusations of exposing himself to a neighbor who was looking out a window while getting ready for work, according to court documents. The case was turned over to Indiana State Police and to a special prosecutor, who eventually offered Bunch a pretrial diversion agreement that resulted in the dismissal of a misdemeanor count of public indecency.
Bunch vehemently denied the neighbor’s allegations, saying it did not happen. “I made sure that I am not admitting to anything,” Bunch said of the allegations at the time. “I guarantee we would have won at trial. The one thing I can’t get back is my name they smeared all over Indiana.”
And in 2019, he won 55% of the GOP primary vote for his council seat in May. But that November, Bunch lost to Democratic newcomer Jerone Wood by a single vote. Although a recount was requested and carried out, it did not change the outcome.
After leaving the council, Bunch still volunteered his time at the Anderson Community Center on McClure Road. Turner said she was aware that his legs and feet were deteriorating due to diabetes.
“But it never slowed him down,” she added.
Turner said some people at the community were taken back a bit when Bunch sometimes showed a rough exterior.
“But his interior was nothing but a teddy bear,” Turner said. “His heart was always in the right place.”
Miller said it was just a few weeks ago when he drove to Franklin to visit Bunch – only to find the passion was still strong.
“Even during the last time I visited with him, he was talking like ‘When I get out of here, I want to help with this or that’,” Miller said. “He was still thinking about what he could still help achieve.”
Two recent events helped to lift Bunch’s spirits in his final days. One took place the night before he died, when his Indiana Hoosiers defeated Purdue 79-71 in men’s basketball, his daughter said.
But Bunch was especially proud when his granddaughter, Lexie Jones, won the singles state championship in the Indiana Bowling Finals this month, Miller said.
