Kosciusko Superior Court 1 Judge David Cates died last week unexpectedly.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — David Cates, who served as the attorney for the Wawasee Community School Corporation for 26 years, was one of only three attorneys the school corporation has ever had.

Two former school board members and a current board member shared some memories of their time working with Cates, who died unexpectedly last week at his home in Syracuse just weeks after being re-elected as the judge of Kosciusko County Superior Court 1.

Bob Pilcher served on the school board in the 1990s when Cates was the school corporation attorney, but Pilcher also knew Cates apart from board meetings as a friend. The two played basketball together for more than 20 years.

“We were closer as friends in that realm,” Pilcher said, noting they spent hours together twice each week playing basketball and Cates bought shoes from him among other connections.

Something standing out to Pilcher about Cates is “he was such a gentleman at all times, not just in sports.”

“Dave was a good man,” Pilcher added. “He was like a brother to me and we had a lot in common. We were friends, not just business acquaintances. He was more than a lawyer and more than a judge.”

Bill Troup served on the school board from 1987 to 1994. He started about the time the transition was being made from the first attorney, Bob Reed, to Cates. Roger Thornton was the superintendent at that time.

“He (Cates) was a good guy all around,” Troup recalled. “He always had the proper legal advice for us. He was always good at having the right answer for us. As far as I know, everything we did was above board.”

Troup also recalled Cates was a good joke teller and “he always had a couple of good jokes.” Cates enjoyed walleye fishing in Canada, Troup said, “and he had some good fishing stories to tell us.”

Mike Wilson has served on the school board since 2006. He worked with Cates for approximately seven years before Cates left at the end of 2013.

“I remember his calm demeanor,” Wilson said of Cates. “He kept a clear focus on what would be best for the school corporation.”

Cates “didn’t get overly excited” and always seemed to be in control of his emotions. “He was not influenced by outside agendas,” Wilson noted.

Wilson also remembers Cates could sort of blend into the background and hardly be noticed at school board meetings “but he would speak up if something was going off the rails.”

Another memory Wilson shared of Cates is seeing him at school-related activities even when he was no longer the school corporation attorney.

Wilson said he spoke with Cates after the Dec. 8 school board meeting and the two joked about possibly starting a 60-and-over basketball league.