David George Krider, 79, of La Porte, passed away on Wednesday, July 4, 2018 at IU Health La Porte. He passed away during the Fourth of July Parade in which he was named Grand Marshal of in 1994. David was born in Elkhart, IN, on June 30, 1939 to Orin George and Evelyn (Weimer) Krider.
On February 6, 1988 in Kouts, IN, he married Lois Adele Krider who survives in La Porte. Also surviving are his beloved daughters, Lynette (Matthew) Santomenna of Charlotte, NC, Jami (Douglas) Holt of La Porte, and Kelli (Brian) Jonkman of DeMotte, IN; 10 grandchildren, Joshua Wilmsen, Grant Holt, Antwan Wordlaw, Jake Senne, Giovanni Jackson, Joslyn and Brooklyn Grace Holt, Ashley Jonkman, Breanne (Micah) Wallace, and Sam Jonkman; 2 great-granchildren, Josh Jr. and Ally; brothers, Kay (Doug) Flauding, Jim (Susan) Krider; and sister, Susan (Tony) Johnson. He was preceded in death by his parents; step-mother, Vivan; son, Randall Krider, and son Brooke Joslyn.
Cremation has taken place with Cutler Funeral Home and Cremation Center, La Porte. A time of visitation with family and friends will take place from 12 -6 PM on Saturday, July 7, 2018 at Cutler Funeral Home and Cremation Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to Lois Krider for the new Dave Krider Memorial Scholarship Fund for La Porte High School, 2900 Monroe St., La Porte, IN 46350 or to Northwest Indiana F.C.A., 853 Eastport Center Drive, Suite 200, Valparaiso, IN 46383 (nwindianafca.org).
Born in Elkhart, Dave was a life-long Hoosier and spent most of his adult life in La Porte. He won the Ernie Pyle Award twice for sports writing while working for the Indiana Daily Student and graduated from Indiana University with a journalism degree. He worked four years as assistant sports editor for the Elkhart Truth and became sports editor for the La Porte Herald Argus in 1965, a position he held for over 28 years.
Having grown up in the era of Oscar Robertson, Bobby Plump and the Milan Miracle, Dave believed that God predestined him to become a pioneer in publicizing high school sports on a national basis. Dave’s big break was when the nation’s first national high school sports magazine, “Letterman”, was created by Paul Nyberg. He wrote for the magazine for five years and did three cover stories.
He also initiated a high school column in Basketball Weekly out of Detroit and later wrote a column for Basketball Times, totaling 17 years. During the latter period, Dave began doing the prep material for Street and Smith’s Basketball Yearbook, a job which lasted for 21 years. In 1982, he was hired by USA Today to do its national high school Super 25 team and player rankings and did them for 18 years.
He did a weekly high school column and selected the national athlete of the week for Sports Illustrated (si.com). He was the author of five books and belongs to nine halls of fame, including the La Porte Old-Timers Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994, La Porte High School Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997, Norm Hubner Hall of Fame in 2011, the National High School, US Basketball Writers, and Indiana halls for basketball, baseball, and sports writing. Most recently Dave was inducted into the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Champions in April 2018.
He played noon hoops at the YMCA twice a week against much younger players until May of this year and fully believed that you can’t grow up in Indiana and not be touched by basketball. Dave and his wife, Lois, sponsored the La Porte Indiana High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a group he has either sponsored or co-sponsored for 42 years. They give all the glory, honor, and praise to God and Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior, for their incredible blessings.
Condolences may be shared with the family online at www. cutlerfuneralhome.com.
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