Jackson Township resident Jim M. Bates, 61, died Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, at
Porter hospital.
He was born Sept. 10, 1948, in Providence, R.I., and was preceded in death
by his mother, Mary (Oberg), and step-father, Don Campbell.
In 1973 he married Karen Olszewski, who survives in Jackson Township.
He is also survived by his daughter, Elizabeth of Kaneohe, Hawaii; brothers
Don (Diana) Campbell of Portage, Dennis (Chun) Campbell of Lawton, Okla.,
and Leonard Campbell (Laurie) of Valparaiso; sisters, Gail (Rafael)
Rodriguez of Pensacola, Fla., Shirley Radusin of Portage, Sue (Marty) Garus
of Valparaiso, and Sheila Sheetz of LaPorte; his mother-in-law, Theresa
Olszewski of Chesterton; many nieces and nephews; and many wonderful friends
and union brothers.
He was preceded in death by his father-in-law, Joseph Olszewski.
Jim moved to Indiana when young, graduated from Jackson Township High School
in 1967, and then joined the U.S. Navy and served in Vietnam as a Seabee.
He was a member of LaPorte Carpenters Union Local 1485 and served on the
executive board as recording secretary for 24 years until his retirement
last fall.
He was a delegate as well for many years to the Indiana/Kentucky Regional
Council of Carpenters.
Jim loved the outdoors and spent many hours fishing, hunting, and mushroom
gathering and looked forward to attending local turkey shoots in South
Haven. He was a fan of Chesterton High School athletics and never missed a
football or basketball game.
A memorial service, Father James Meade officiating, is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 16, at White-Love Funeral Home, 525 S. Second St. in
Chesterton.
The family will receive friends from 12 p.m. on Tuesday until the time of
service at White-Love.
For more information, call (219) 926-1309.