Owen Rader, a treasured husband, father and grandfather, died Friday, only 26 days short of his 100th birthday.
Owen was born on Oct. 28, 1915, on a farm near Elnora, son of Oscar and Leona (Watson) Rader. The family moved to Montana in 1917 but returned to Indiana in 1921, where Owen attended school. He studied agriculture and graduated from Elnora High School in 1933.
Owen met his sweetheart and lifelong partner, Kathleen Eads, in grade school. They were married Sept. 30, 1934, and they became lifelong and successful farmers near Elnora.
Owen was active in Democratic Party politics in Daviess County, and in the 1960s he was elected to two terms as township trustee of Elmore Township. In this role, he was instrumental in the consolidation of five townships into the new North Daviess Community Schools district, and he served on the founding school board. For 35 years he served as an active member of the board of the Daviess County Fair.
Owen and Kathleen were active in the Elnora Christian Church, where Owen was an elder. They were also members of the Masons and Eastern Star. In 1979 Owen and Kathleen became part-time residents of Phoenix, Arizona, where they became active members of the Creighton Christian Church.
In 1985, as the official historian for the town’s centennial, Owen published his History of Elnora. Later he and Kathleen each wrote their life stories, much treasured by their children and grandchildren. In 1986 they retired, sold their farm in Indiana, and became permanent Arizona residents.
Owen and Kathleen were avid travelers, enjoying tours of Europe, the Holy Land, Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as trips to almost every state of the Union. In 1988 they moved from Phoenix to Golden Keys in Scottsdale. They were active bowlers and fierce fans of the Phoenix Suns. Owen and Kathleen celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with relatives in Indiana before Owen’s beloved wife Kathleen passed away in 2005.
In addition to his wife, Owen was predeceased by a daughter, Judith Ann Snyder; a granddaughter, Beth Mc-Adam; and three siblings, Clovas (Tobe) Rader, Marie Nugent, and Vivian Gatlin. He is survived by a daughter, Barbara McAdam, and her husband Greg, of High Point, North Carolina; a son, Thomas Rader, and his wife Mary Ann, of Cedar Falls, Iowa; a son, James Rader, and his wife Margaret Pond, of Burlington, Vermont; a son-in-law, Joseph Snyder, of Houston, Texas; a daughter, Virginia Blankenship, and her husband Bruce, of Flagstaff, Arizona; and a son, Philip (Doug) Rader, of Arvada, Colorado; and by three siblings: Autumn (Bonnie) Smith of Tinley Park, Illinois; Clement (Tim) Rader of Elnora; and Marjorie Moore of Jacksonville, Florida. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, Abigail Harper Wileman, born just six days before his death.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Elnora Christian Church, with burial beside his beloved Kathleen in Elnora’s Fairview Cemetery. Calling hours will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Poindexter-McClure Funeral Home in Odon.
A memorial service will be held in Scottsdale on October 24.