H Dale Showalter

H. Dale Showalter, 73, of Goshen, died early Monday afternoon, October 16, 2006, at Goshen General Hospital.   He was born July 25, 1933, in rural Mishawaka, Indiana, to Howard and Neva (Chivington) Showalter.  He grew up on a farm and farmed until high school graduation.  He married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Schweisberger on March 23, 1952.  She survives.   A resident of Goshen since 1979, Mr. Showalter owned and operated Showalter Buick, GMC from 1976 to 1989, with the entire family involved in the business.  In 1978 the Showalter dealership became the largest volume GMC in the US.  He was a long time member of the Goshen Rotary Club and Maplecrest Country Club.  He served on the Board of Directors for Goshen Health System, Bashor Home, United Way and Elkhart County Fair Foundation.   A 1951 graduate of Mishawaka High School, he was an instructor at Studebaker Proving Grounds and was involved with the radio program “Melody Farm”.  In 1955 he entered the retail business at Gates Chevrolet.  In 1959 he joined Associates Commercial, South Bend, of which he was a member for 17 years, and in 1963 was named National Sales Manager.  In 1965 he became the Factory Relations Manager for Associates Commercial, moving on in 1970 to Senior Vice President of Marketing, and finally in1973 to Senior Vice President of Western Operations.   In 1976, Mr. Showalter joined First Bank and wrote and implemented the Trucker’s Bank Plan. In 1991 he underwrote construction of the Elkhart County Community Center which serves over 5000 4-H members each year.  In 1993 he joined 1st Source Bank of Goshen as Chairman.  He also coordinated the acquisition and implementation of two new county DARE vans.  He was a ten year Captain of the Goshen Rotary WNIT Fund Raising Team, Chairman of the Youth Study Team for the Chamber of Commerce, and member of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Boys and Girls Club.  He served as president of the Goshen Rotary Club and as a two time board member.   Mr. Showalter received many awards, including Goshen Rotarian of the Year in 1997, the Ernestine M. Raclin Award in 1999, and the Sagamore, Indiana’s highest award, in 2001.   He is survived by his wife, Shirley; three daughters, Pamela (Lee Barker) Showalter of Elkhart, Patricia (William) Kaska of Ester0, Florida and Paula Stanage of Elkhart; a son, Jeffrey (Paula) Showalter of Goshen; and five grandchildren.  He is also survived by a sister, Janice Shearer of Bremen, Indiana; and two brothers, Ronald Showalter of South Bend and James Showalter of Rancho Palos Verdes, California.   Friends will be received 2 to 8 p.m., Friday, October 20, at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home.   A 10:00 a.m. funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 21 at the funeral home.   A private family burial will follow the service at Violett Cemetery, Goshen.   Memorial contributions may be made to Bashor Children’s Home or Elkhart County 4-H Fair.