Obituaries

July 21, 1923 to July 9, 2011

BLOOMINGTON - K. Edwin Applegate, 87, Bloomington, died Saturday, July 9.

He was born July 21, 1923, the son of the late Karl and Gladys Applegate. He married Betty Dilts of Winamac in 1944. She survives.

Also surviving are his sister Virginia Baumgartner, son  Raymond Applegate (Rachel) of Texas; son Bob Applegate (Vicki) of Wisconsin and daughter Beth Applegate (Trish Kerle); of Bloomington. He also is survived by six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by son Eric Applegate.

For more than 65 years, Mr. Applegate was a committed leader and public servant to the State of Indiana and to his country. Upon recovering from wounds he sustained in France during World War II, he earned an undergraduate degree in business management at Indiana University in 1946 and a law degree from the Maurer School of Law in 1948. He opened his first law firm in Bloomington in 1949 and retired from Applegate, McDonald and Associates in 2011. 

Mr. Applegate had a distinguished record of public service, serving from 1951-1958 as U.S. Commissioner, Southern District of Indiana; from 1958-1965 as Deputy Prosecutor for Monroe County and Municipal Judge for Bloomington; and in 1965 as a representative in the Indiana General Assembly, where he was primary author of the bill that established Ivy Tech Bloomington's first Community College. In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson nominated him as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, a position he held until 1970. 

Mr. Applegate was an active civic leader, including serving as president of the IU Varsity Club and on numerous boards of directors in Bloomington and Monroe County.  He was also active in Knights Templar and Freemasons. He was active in the local lodge number 22 for over three decades, also serving in 1973 as the Sovereign Grand Inspector General, Honorary 33rd Degree, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, and in 1976 as the Department Commander for the East Central Department of the Grand Encampment of the Knights Templar of the United States. He received many awards throughout his decades of service, including being selected by Governor Evan Bayh in 1992 for the Outstanding Government and Civic Service Award and, in 1999, for the Indiana Bar Foundation's Distinguished Service Award for 50 years of service. In 2011, Mr. Applegate was inducted into the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. Induction into the Academy represents the highest honor the School bestows on alumni. Fellows have distinguished themselves in their chosen career fields and have continued to enhance the national reputation of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law through their personal achievements and dedication to the highest standards of their profession.

Visitation will take place from 4 to 7 p.m.,Thursday, at Allen Funeral Home (4155 S. Old State Road 37), Bloomington. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m., Friday (July 15), at the First Methodist Church on the corner of 4th Street and Washington Street, Bloomington. His body will be cremated and his remains will be placed in the First Methodist Church, Columbarium where his eldest son Eric also rests in peace.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in memory of Ed and Eric Applegate to the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Morrison 313 / 1165 E. 3rd Street, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405.

Condolences may be directed to Mrs. Betty Applegate, 509 S. Swain Ave., Bloomington, IN 47401 or on line through the Allen Funeral Home web page.