Gordon "Pete" Peterson, 82

GORDON "PETE" L. PETERSON, 82, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012, at La Hacienda Nursing Home, Harlingen, Texas after a short illness. He worked for IBM as an Electronics Engineer for over 30 years. In 1988, he retired and moved to the Fun & Sun RV Park, in San Benito. He was an accomplished musician and especially loved Bluegrass music. He had a passion for woodcarving and was a member of the woodcarving club at the RV Park.

Pete was responsible for introducing Linda and I to bluegrass music. In 1972 Pete convinced us to attend a "bluegrass" festival at Aunt Minnie's farm in West Virginia. Listening to his new tape of Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt band, Linda, I, our young son James and Pete drove east to the festival towing our 16' RV. We had a great time.

Thereafter, Pete encouraged us to attend a close by festival in Ohio called Ottawa. We made occasional visits but each time we became more enthused until finally we learned to play instruments and join Pete as he played banjo. We started attending festivals with Pete and would hit as many as 15 in the summer season.

One festival we attended was hosted by NIBGA in Columbia City, IN in the late '80s. There we met Don McFarland, president of NIBGA. We started attending winter meetings and eventually, Linda became club secretary and I vice president. In 1990 Don resigned and I became president. The festival needed a new home and Kendallville was found.

The Kendallville festival is a direct result of Pete's love of bluegrass music.

RIP good friend.

Lynsford "Lee" Adkins, 79, of Erie, MI

Lynsford "Lee" Adkins, 79, of Erie, MI, died Sept. 21 after a long illness. He and Nancy attended many festivals at Kendallville. They parked their motor home on the concrete by the ball field.  You would see both Lee and Nancy working the gate.

In the winter they would travel to Arizona.

Jackie Ester - RIP

Just received a sad call, Jackie Ester passed away this AM. She was a strong supporter of the club. She and Walt ran the sound for many festivals. In the last few years she has been in poor health and in the last few months in a nursing home.

RIP Jackie

Earl Scruggs - 88 Mar. 28, 2012

One of my first years on the IBMA board was held at the Galt House in Louisville, KY. The Chamber of Commerce had a welcome reception for the board on the Sunday evening before the World of Bluegrass. At the reception was a who who in bluegrass but what caught my eye was Earl and JD Crowe setting in a couple over stuffed chairs trading banjo licks. They were just a couple of pickers enjoying the music.

We never had the pleasure of having Earl perform at a Tri-State festival.

Here is a blog that has info about Earl.

Earl & the Chieftains bring home Sally Goodin'

You can find Earls' biography on his web site. An obituary is here.

Earl will have a proper send-off with a full-fledged funeral service at the Ryman Auditorium on Sunday (April 1). 

Shellie Cagle - 83 - Jan. 21, 2012

Shellie & Bob were long time members and were at many Tri-State festivals. They parked just north of the gate.  Shellie played the bass and loved to sing.

You could always count on Shellie to help out at the festival. She and Bob would often work the gate.

They lived in Detroit area when attending the festivals but Shellie has been in Arizona with her daughter for a number of years.

From her daughter:
Mom passed Sat 1-21-2012 at 12:15 while listening to her bluegrass cassettes I had turned on for her. She stayed in a elder care home and it was just like a house.
She sold her bass many years ago to Dana Cupp Jr for his wife but she would sing and entertain at the home. 
No memorial is planned as that how they wanted it. She is being cremated. She only  had my brother Robert Cagle Jr. and I. Daddy (Bob) left us on May 16, 2008. He left his instruments to the grand kids and only one plays professionally. Adam Cagle has a band in Michigan called Yankeeville.
I am sure she will be playing in heaven with the Bill Monroe and many others.

Pauline Collingsworth, 79

AUBURN, IN — Pauline Collingsworth of Auburn died Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012, at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. She was a big bluegrass fan and regularly attended the NIBGA festivals. She was still working and dancing before her recent stroke.

Russ Carteaux 88

Russ ran the Avilla Lions Food booth at the Tri-State Festival for many years. The booth is located just north of the stage area.

While his wife was still alive, she would come by our trailer on Sunday night and give us the soup that was left over from the food booth. It made a great Monday dinner.

Russ has been in declining health and had not worked at the booth for the last couple of years. He died Monday Dec. 26, 2011.

James R. Crowe, 78, died Nov. 13, 2011, at his residence.

Jim and his wife Janice were often at Kendallville. They parked just south of the log cabin. Jim played mandolin and usually was at the Down Yonders camp up on Michigan hill.

Jim lived in Harrod, Ohio which is a small town south east of Lima, Ohio

We understand he was working with a backhoe when he died.

Kenny Baker, 85, died July 8, 2011

Kenny suffered a stroke earlier that week. He played with Bill Monroe and was a respected and admired fiddle player.
During a package show with Don Gibson, Baker met Monroe and was offered a job. He cut his first recordings with Monroe's Bluegrass Boys on December 15, 1957.
Kenny Baker served more years in Monroe's band than any other musician and was selected by Monroe to record the fiddle tunes passed down from Uncle Pen Vandiver.



An extended obituary can be found in the Tennessean.

Hazel Dickens - 75

Hazel Dickens, a troubadour of hard times whose raw, heartfelt songs about coal miners and the life of the downtrodden made her a revered figure in country and bluegrass music, died April 22 at the Washington Home hospice in the District. She was 75 and had complications from pneumonia.


You Tube video of her.


Full story at the Washington Post.

Francis Geels, 86, Over Jordan

Francis Geels passed away after an extended illness, April 11, 2011 at home. Francis was a fixture at all NIBGA festivals. We first met him at Ottawa, OH at the reunions. We had the biggest camp fire on the grounds. Francis would come by around midnight after other jams had quit. It wouldn't be long until our jam was fired up again with him leading the way on the fiddle.

He and his family band, The Geels Family, played many Kendallville and before festivals. He was a renowned fiddle player and played with numerous other groups including Joe Taylor & The Redbirds and Fiddler & Sis. He taught the fiddle with Master Artist Apprenticeship Program. He also made and repaired string instruments.

This picture was taken at our winter jams at the Southwest Conservation club.

Full obituary information is available at Haggard,Sefton & Hirschy Funeral Home in Decatur, IN

Dave Hart, 73, over Jordan

We've received word that Dave Hart from Antwerp, Ohio passed away this afternoon, April 8 at home. He had been ill recently but was determined to come to Tri-State Memorial weekend.

Dave was on the board of NIBGA and has been an active member for many years. He will be missed by his many friends and family.

His obituary is located on Dooley Funeral home web site. The Fort Wayne newspaper published this:

DAVID HART, 73 of Antwerp, died Friday, April 8, 2011. Service is 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church, 5482 CR 424, Antwerp, Ohio, with viewing one hour prior. Viewing is also from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the church. www.dooleyfuneralhome.com

Published in Fort Wayne Newspapers on April 10, 2011

Joe Taylor - 89

Joe Taylor and the Red Birds was a local country band who played from 1948 to 1998.  For you oldies, they were on the WOWO Little Red Barn every Sat when I was a kid.

Joe and Patty Corbat resided at the Scared Heart Nursing home in Avilla, IN where NIBGA bands have played  on Fridays of the festivals. Many of the bands who played there will remember Joe as a person who loved to talk with them.

Story here although they remove the link after a few days.

Carlton Haney died

Bluegrass impresario Carlton Haney, a promoter and booking agent who helped popularize the music by spearheading the bluegrass festival phenomenon, died Wednesday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C. A member of the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame, Haney was 82 years old.

Haney served as a booking agent for Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys from 1953-55, and as booking agent and manager for Don Reno, Red Smiley & The Tennessee Cut-Ups from 1955-64. As a festival promoter, he worked with practically every big name in bluegrass music beginning in 1965, when he organized what he called the “Blue Grass Festival” on a horse farm in Fincastle, Va.

That “Blue Grass” (Haney preferred the two-word phrase rather than the now-common “bluegrass” because Monroe’s band was called the Blue Grass Boys) festival featured Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, the Stanley Brothers and many more, and it was successful enough to spawn hundreds of other bluegrass festivals. Those festivals were a major shot in the arm for bluegrass, as they provided a means by which fans could hear a bevy of top acts in one weekend and often interact with musicians in informal “pickin’ sessions.”

Stewart V. Hall 11/24/1927 - 01/27/2011

Stewart Hall 83, a NIBGA member, passed away at his home in Plymouth, IN. He was very ill with cancer.

Stewart was a very accomplished banjo player and could play the fiddle when called up-on  to do so.
He came to many, many Kendallville festival's and will be missed by those who played music with him. I have played many times with him over the years and very proud to call Stewart my friend.


Stewart is survived by Rosemary, his wife of 55 years


Paul Saurborn

Charlie Louvin July 7, 1927 - Jan. 26, 2011

Veteran Grand Ole Opry favorite Charlie Louvin lost his battle with pancreatic cancer early Wednesday morning, January 26, 2011. He was 83 and died at his home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, according to Nashville radio reports.


In 1955, the Louvin Brothers’ When I Stop Dreaming became their first song to enter the Top 10 on the country charts. That same year, the brothers performed at the Grand Ole Opry for their first time and were also invited to tour with Elvis Presley as the King’s opening act. Although the Louvin Brothers parted ways in 1963, their music has lived on to this day with hits such as Knoxville Girl and I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby.

Fran Miller died Nov. 27, 2010

Frances J. Miller, 88, of White Pigeon, died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo of natural causes. 


Fran is the wife of Zeb Miller. They have attended NIBGA festivals for many years and could be found at the top of Michigan hill with their many friends playing music.

Charlie Gilbert died Oct. 22, 2010

Charlie Gilbert passed away Friday of natural causes  at his apartmen in Warsaw, IN.

Charlie on the NIBGA stage May 28, 2010

A wake will be held Tuesday 10/ 26/2010  at the St John Bosco Funeral home in Churubusco IN.  Funeral services will be held Wed  10/27/2010.

Musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments to the wake Tuesday .

Charlie was the banjo player for Gilbert and Company.
Charlie will be sadly missed by family and friends and those who liked good banjo playing.....
God rest his soul !

Chere McKinley

Charlie played in several bands over the years including Tippy River and Possum Trot Orchestra. He appeared on our stage several times, the last being Memorial weekend 2010.

From the funeral home web site:

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Otis R. Bowen Center for Human Services, 850 N. Harrison Street, Warsaw, IN  46580.

Mitch Jayne, Dillards bass player dies

He passed away Monday, August 2, 2010 after a brief bout with cancer. The Bluegrass Blog has more details and a video of him introducing Dooley.

Jane Adams passes

Jane Adams, wife of Fran and mother of Sandy Tedford, died Sunday (July 11, 2010) morning after a battle with cancer. Sandy has been the craft workshop chairperson at our festivals as well as an active supporter of NIBGA.