Earl Lewis Lacounte

Earl Lewis LaCounte, 83,of Goshen, died Sunday, March 20, at Greenleaf Health Campus, Elkhart.

He was born Sept. 12,1938, in Bryan, Ohio to Delbert and Gladys Pernina (Roderick) LaCounte.

On June 19, 1965, he married Sarah Catherine Nichols in Elkhart. She died May 29, 2009.

He is survived by a son, Marc (Lori) LaCounte, Goshen; two grandsons, Jacob and Brendan and his loving companion, Jane A. (Snider) Roth.

Along with his parents and wife of 44 years, he was preceded in death by a brother, Sheldon Ray LaCounte.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. In addition to owning a Snap-on Franchise, he was an entrepreneur and held real estate investments.

Earl enjoyed spending time at his lake home on Corey Lake.  If it was a weekend or holiday Earl would be found there.  He was an accomplished skier and loved to challenge himself at honing his skills.  He was quite creative and would pretty much try anything he could, behind a boat; from skiing on a canoe paddle, or his favorite 'shoe skis', to taking the time to mount bindings backwards on a slalom ski or riding around with his dog sitting on a dining room chair on top of a disk, Earl would do anything for a thrill and a laugh.  He loved to teach people to ski and wakeboard or simply pull them around the lake for endless hours.  He loved being on the water.

He was also quick to travel and quite adventurous as he was passionate about his Land Rovers.  He and Cathi frequently traveled up north or out west exploring the wilderness and mountain trails with his fellow Land Rover club enthusiasts.  Earl enjoyed toughing it out where only the brave would proceed and skilled survive.  He loved returning home with his trucks all dirty and well-traveled.

When not at the lake Earl enjoyed watching IU sports in which he remained a steadfast fan in good times and bad.  He would always yell at the TV or from the stands as if the coaches and referees could hear him.  And when they didn’t respond accordingly, he would yell louder.  One of Earl's favorite IU moments was when he and his wife Cathi "walked the length of the football field at halftime" during senior day at an IU football game in which their son who was on the Cheerleading Team was recognized along with other senior Cheer Team and Football players alike.  He reveled in the moment as he looked up to see 10's of thousands of people in the stands and was able to experience the field from a first-person perspective.  He loved everything IU...

Visitation will be Friday, March 25, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home and Saturday, March 26, from 10 to 11 a.m., prior to the 11 a.m. funeral service also at the funeral home. Pastor Diana Siegel will officiate.

Burial will follow at Little Pine Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be given to Camp Eberhart, https://www.ymcacampeberhart.org/ or Camp Wakeshma, http://www.campwakeshma.com/ .