James W. "Jim" Ertel
James William “Jim” Ertel, 92, died at 10:52 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at home – University Place in West Lafayette, Indiana. Jim was born at home on October 5, 1924 in Tipton, Indiana. He was the son of Edward and Josephine (Cook) Ertel.
Jim was a successful athlete. He played on the Tipton High School Basketball team and was a 3 year all-conference player at Tipton and considered one of the early 1940’s top pivotmen. Jim made the All-Sectional team three times, the All-Regional team twice, and then All-Semi-State team once. He was named to 1942 Indiana All-Star team his senior year. Jim and one other player were the tallest Indiana high school basketball players at 6’ 4”. He earned his nickname “Big Red”. Jim was added to the Tipton High School Wall of Fame in 2003.
He attended Purdue University on a basketball scholarship and played basketball for Purdue until he enlisted in the Army Air Force during WWII. After the war ended, he returned to finish his BS degree in Math, Chemistry & Physics and earned two letters playing basketball for Purdue. Jim loved being a Purdue Boilermaker. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.
On June 19, 1946, Jim married Betty Mae “Chick” Girard in Tipton, IN. In their 70 years of marriage, they lived mostly in Indiana. Except for two years in Lexington, Kentucky, they lived in Tipton, Gary (Miller Beach), Chesterton and Lafayette. In 2012, they moved back to where they first lived – West Lafayette!
Jim’s Dad was the owner of the Ertel Bottling Works in Tipton. In his youth, Jim spent many hours working with his Dad to make and deliver Ertel’s Pop. All his life Jim loved root beer! He also worked with Chick’s Dad, Roy Girard, owner of the Tipton Hatchery. Jim taught chemistry, physics and advanced science at the high school and college levels. He also coached high school basketball. He earned his masters degree from University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The work Jim cherished was rewarded each time a former student shared how having Mr. Ertel as a teacher made a difference in their life.
Jim is survived by his wife, Chick, and their five children, James Michael Ertel and his wife Pat, Joseph Alan Ertel and his wife Jean, Carol Ann Ertel King and her husband Jerry, Andrew Edward Ertel and his wife Donna, and Marylou Ertel. They have four grandchildren, Joe and Heather Ertel, Jon and Amy (Ertel) Summers, Jim and Michelle Ertel and Andy King; five step grandchildren, Heather, Robyn, Kathy, Matt and Charlie.
He is also survived by six great-grandchildren, Hanna, Gretchen, Audrey, Grant, James and Noah and seven step great-grandchildren, Jackson, Benjamin, Colin, Elyse, Graham, Lena and Deven. One brother, Mark Ertel, and three sisters, Betty Moore, Rita Cage and Joann Stodgell, are deceased.
Jim was a jack-of-all-trades. He repaired anything and everything, using parts from broken objects stored in his workshop. In 1977, Jim and Chick finished the complete construction of their home in Chesterton. Jim thoroughly enjoyed spending time with friends, including his life-long friends from the 1942 Tipton Basketball team. In retirement, they wintered in Lakeland, Florida and played many rounds of golf.
But Jim’s greatest joy in life was to spend time with Chick and his family.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 29 at St. Thomas Aquinas (Purdue), 535 West State Street, West Lafayette with Fr. Patrick Baikauskas, O.P. officiating. Visitation with Jim’s family will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday at the church.
Jim will be buried at St. John’s Cemetery, Tipton at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 30 with military honors. Young-Nichols Funeral Home, Tipton, is in charge of the arrangements.
The family wishes that in lieu of flowers memorial donations in Jim’s memory be made to either the John Purdue Club, c/o Purdue Foundation, 403 W. Wood Street, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907 or St. Thomas Aquinas (Purdue), 535 West State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906.
I am a saddened to hear abut the passing of your dad, Carol. He was a great man and educator. Please accept my heartfelt sympathies to you and your family, May your many memories of Jim help to sustain you at the most difficult time.
I enjoyed having class with Mr Ertel. Super teacher very helpful if one didn’t get it to understand. Chairous your wonderful memories of a great man.
Loved him as a science teacher at Wirt HS. We loved imitating him. Such a charismatic guy!
Carol, my condolences go out to you and your family. It sounds like your dad lived a good, long life. Hold onto your memories of your times together, they will get sweeter with each passing year.
Sincerely,
My condolences to your family. Your family was a fixture in the “3 Courts” for decades. I had him for physics at Wirt and he was an excellent teacher. He was able to get the points across to guys like me who weren’t the best of students.
My condolences, Carol, in the loss of your father. I remember him as my physics teacher at Wirt. He was also a great story teller in class!
Mary Lou, I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your father. I remember you talking about your parents and how you wanted them to move closer to you. You gave wonderful care to your father over the last several years. I’m thinking of you at this time of sorry. Condolences to you and your family.
Mr Ertel was a terrific teacher and had a great famiky. He will be remembered with love and affection!
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you prepare to say goodbye to your dad. Seems he lived a very full and satisfying life.
Joe, My condolences to you and your family on the passing of your father. He was a great person as well as teacher. My family prayers are with you,
I AM VERY SORRY TO HEAR OF THE LOST OF JIM ( I called him coach. I played at Jeffersonville high school in 1949-50,my last year. This could have been his first job since getting out of school
My heartfelt sympathies to the family of this wonderful man and educator. I didn’t have him for a teacher but heard what a very good one he was at William A. Wirt. May you all find solace in .the indelible imprint he left on so many. God Bless him and Rest In Peace, Mr. Ertel
Mike, Joe, Carol, Andy and Mary Lou, to each of you and yours we send our sincere condolences and sympathy for the loss of your Dad. Jim was a delightful man to be with and his eyes were always smiling. Jim was one of our Dad’s closest friends both in Tipton and at Purdue and later in Florida. You see, Jim married our Mom’s closest childhood and lifelong friend, Chick, your mother. Our mother, Zola, is no longer able to write or call, but I know her heart is very sad now upon hearing this news. Please tell Chick for us that Zola sends her love. May God Bless you all. We wish we could be with all of you at this time. May your faith sustain you and uplift you. Please keep in touch.
To Joe and the rest of the Ertel Family: We didn’t know your dad but, from what others had to say, we can tell he was a great human being who was loved by many. We send sincere sympathy as you do your best to adjust to life without this dear man.
I wish to state my deepest condolences to the Ertel family. Mr .Ertel, besides scaring me to death when I was a freshman at Wirt, was the man outside of my father who had the most influence over my life. After a shot duration in his chemistry class, he stated to me, “You are too smart to leave stupid and I am the man who can make sure that doesn’t happen”. Because of his caring and inspiration I spent 9 years in the military departing as a captain and then attended Purdue University. At Purdue, I studied to become a Pharmacist because of Mr. Ertel’s perpetrating and lasting influence. An even more affect was the apparent love of his God and his family. Truly this world will miss such a magnificent man.
Dennis,
I knew your father well and hung out with you uncle russ.
m
Our sincere sympathy goes out to Joe and the rest of the Ertel family! God bless you all and may he rest in peace! The Maffitt Family
Joe, I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of your dad. He was my chemistry teacher, an excellent teacher at that. My sincere condolences to you and your family
Cindy Robinson Pado
I was so fortunate to talk with Mr. Ertel and his wife at our previous class reunion. To find myself conversing with an Elegant man of Quality and his equally grand wife-
I am his son Joe’s vintage, and “Mr.” Ertel was
my teacher- and I’m sure I confessed to him
and his dear wife
that I wish I might have been a better student
Sitting chair to chair with such a dignified
gentle presence, was my honor
for a while that reunion evening
Had I been awake as a child, which few are, I might have appreciated the gift of having
a teacher with a caring universe
in his eyes
Mr. Ertel was an outstanding high school chemistry teacher. He was instrumental in making my college experience better.
My condolences to your family. My wife and I had the privilege of being students of Mr Ertel. She was at IUN and I was at Wirt for Chemistry and Physics..More importantly, I worked with Jim in the science department at Wirt where he was chairman. He was a great and warm human being.
My condolences to the family. I was fortunate to have Mr. Ertel as my Physics teacher in 1960-61 at Wm A Wirt HS. I can still see his tall form with red hair walking around the large counter with sink in the front of the lecture/laboratory room on the 3rd floor. He certainly had the ability to make his subject understandable whether it was Chemistry or Physics.
In reading some of the other condolences it appears that Mr. Ertel had much the same effect on others that he had on me. He was not only a good teacher who knew his subject matter and was able to convey it with ease, he was one of those who “got” kids. He had warmth, humor and compassion. The world needs more teachers like him.
Mr. Ertel was one of my favorite teaches at Wirt HS in Miller, Indiana. I am so sorry for your loss. Adrienne (Lessard) Stack, Class of 1961
Thank you Mr Ertel! Because of your class, I learned to love Chemistry and became a scientist myself. My Condolences to your family.
i stunk at. physics and chemistry. but always liked my teacher, mr ertel. he did manage to teach me how to use my bright yellow slide rule. where is it now. had no idea he was such a good basketball player, though not surprised. my condolences to all his family. sent from bolivia
jeff hersch
When I reviewed the obituary I was very surprised with his accomplishments on the athletic front. My experience with Mr. Ertel was in the classroom. In my Physics class I received an ‘F’ in the first grading period. He took the time to sit down with me and discuss my problem with this new subject. He went out of his way to help me. The result was a ‘A’ in the second grading period, finishing off the semester with a ‘B’. In all of my dealings with him, I never heard him talk about his athletic accomplishments. First and foremost he was a professional teacher. I will always remember and admire him.
In the early 60’s Mr. Ertel was my chemistry, physics, and senior science teacher. I’ll always remember his classes…what a wonderful teacher and great man he was! On one occasion when he was trying to explain light transmission via lens in telescopes, we must have all had puzzled faces so he kept repeating what he was trying to teach us. Finally someone in the class spoke up and said, “We just don’t understand what any of this has to do with violins!” I think Mr. Ertel laughed for ten minutes that day. He really tried hard to help us understand science. I don’t think he ever knew how he inspired me to begin my teaching career teaching science and math. He truly was a great teacher and a great person. Rest In Peace, Mr. Ertel. I’ll always remember you.
In the 1950’s Mr. Ertel was my chemistry teacher what a “SPECIAL” teacher and “FRIEND” He tutored me to get me through the course, and helped to make me understand chemistry(. I think I baby-sat your children.). In the 1970″s I got a Nursing degree from Purdue had chemistry classes and because of your teaching was able to understand and pass the classes.THANK YOU . Reading all the condolences, what an Influence and difference you made in so many lives. A GREAT PERSON and TEACHER. God Bless You and Rest In Peace.