David F. Tudor

Dec. 22, 1948 – Sept 18, 2019

David F. Tudor, 70, of Noblesville, passed away Sept. 18, 2019. He was born in Franklin on Dec. 22, 1948, son of Lester and Margaret (Wetzel) Tudor.

Mr. Tudor was a 1967 graduate of Westfield High School and the Indiana University, McKinney School of Law. He was a member of the Hamilton County Bar Association. Before retiring, he worked as a private attorney in Noblesville.

As a political historian of Indiana and GOP politics, Mr. Tudor had acquired a vast amount of knowledge including the 1850 Indiana Constitutional Convention. He served Chairman of Young Republicans for several years.

A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, Sept 26, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Westfield Lions Club, where he was an active member. A time of sharing will begin at 5:30 p.m.

A Committal Service will take place Saturday, Sept 28, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Summit Lawn Cemetery, Westfield.

Bussell Family Funerals, Westfield-Carmel, is privileged to assist in arrangements.

*************************************************************************************
Editorial obituary published 9/26/2019

Dave Tudor loved politics, sports and his community
By Betsy Reason, Editor
Thursday, September 26, 2019 4:00 AM

Photo provided Dave Tudor
Photo provided Dave Tudor

David Tudor loved talking politics as much as he loved talking about sports and life in Westfield.
He was often seen with a smile on his face, his hand out to shake and a quick story to tell.
“Howdy” was his favorite greeting, his friends say.
And they will surely miss his camaraderie and great knowledge as a political historian, a knowledgeable lawyer and faithful friend of our community.
David F. Tudor -- a 1967 graduate of Westfield High School and a retired Noblesville attorney -- died on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. He was 70.
The community is invited to his Celebration of Life from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today (Thursday) at Westfield Lions Club, where he was a member. A time of sharing will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Former classmate Kirk Kirkendall contacted me about the service and wanted to share more about his lifelong friend. (By the way, he said the Celebration of Life, although being catered by Wolfie's, will also serve up a symbolic six Jim Dandy pies and 24 pieces of Jim Dandy fried chicken.)
A Franklin native, Tudor grew up in Westfield when it was still a town.
He lived across the street from the then grade school, junior high and senior high, and his mother, Margaret Tudor, was a well-liked teacher, and his father, Lester Tudor, served as a high school principal and a district superintendent.
At that time, Westfield was experiencing the baby boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964). Tudor was one of them, born Dec. 22, 1948, just three days before Christmas.
Kirkendall had known Tudor since fourth grade at a time in this world when kids were playing baseball, collecting baseball cards, reading comic books, and Popular Mechanics and Alfred Newman MAD magazines.
In the fifth grade, they were introduced to the flutophone, and “you should have heard the blaring, high-pitched sound.” And when they started in seventh grade, there weren’t enough seats in junior high study hall, “so a group of us were moved to the senior high school study hall,” Kirkendall recalled. “Don’t know how much studying was done.” And when Major League Baseball’s World Series rolled around, games were played throughout the week during the day, “and most of us got to watch those games in school classes,” Kirkendall said.
Tudor, himself, was a first baseman, while Kirkendall was “a bench warmer.”
One of the most memorable moments was when Tudor and Kirkendall were on the Safety Patrol. “Were we ever big shots,” he said. “Dave and I were assigned to be crossing guards, as some of the kids went home for lunch.”
He said, “Apparently, the day we were assigned was really boring. Being hot shots, sporting our white canvas belt and badge, we decided to use our bamboo crossing sticks as medieval weapons and duel each other as knights. Apparently, unbeknown to the hot shots, we had been caught. I don't recall which grade that was, but Tudor and I were fired.”
Kirkendall said, “This experience may have influenced his later decision to pursue a career in law.”
After graduating from Westfield High School in 1967, Tudor went on to Indiana University and McKinney School of Law and became an attorney.
Dan Stevens, assistant to the Hamilton County Commissioners and former county sheriff, became friends with Tudor when Stevens first served as a precinct committeeman in Westfield. Stevens, who also graduated from Westfield and IU, said, “We had some common topics to discuss.”
He said, “David was always up for a conversation about politics, both local and national, but he was just as willing to discuss Westfield High School. We knew some of the same people, even though we were about three years apart in school.”
Stevens was chief deputy of the sheriff’s department when Tudor and Ray Adler were serving as the county attorney. So they had “lots of friendly conversations about local politics.”
Stevens said, “David always had an opinion about IU basketball, life in Westfield and local politics, but David was also a bit of a history buff for politics. He was quite knowledgeable about Indiana political history.” In fact, he became known as a political historian of Indiana and GOP politics, acquiring a vast amount of knowledge, including the 1850 Indiana Constitutional Convention.
Tudor served as chairman of Young Republicans for several years.
And he also had a lot of connections.
Stevens said one time Tudor talked him into attending a training seminar on the election process and campaign organization in Washington, D.C. “While the event was informative, the highlight of the trip was arranged by David. He had a college buddy that was on the vice president George Bush’s speech-writing staff. David called his friend and made arrangements for an after-hours tour of the White House. This was the mid-1980s, long before 9/11, so while there was security, David’s friend and I took a quick walk through the White House first floor. The tour included a quick look into the Oval Office. We could not enter but got to look through the doorway into the actual Oval Office,” Stevens said. “I’ll never forget that experience and was always thankful to David for making it happen.”
Retired Sen. Luke Kenley of Noblesville first met Tudor when Kenley was a City Court judge in the 1970s, before running for the Senate.
“He was a friendly guy and greeted everybody by saying ‘howdy,” Kenley said.
“He helped me out during my campaign,” inviting him to come to Westfield Lions Club, he said.
“Dave was always a big Republican, and if you were involved, he wanted to make sure you knew all of the people he knew.”
When Tudor attended political breakfasts, he wouldn’t necessarily ask any questions, but he always made sure that politicians “had the right issues” on their minds, Kenley said.
Retired State Rep. Kathy Kreag Williams, now county clerk, first met Tudor when she worked in the clerk’s office, 1984-91, when he was practicing law.
Tudor’s office was just a block or two off the Courthouse Square.
“He had an amazing memory in regards to names and dates of events,” Williams recalled. “We would discuss candidates and strategize on who might run for an office or who we thought would be a good candidate.”
Tudor and Williams attended many of the same Republican functions. “Dave had friends and colleagues in every part of the county and state,” she said.
Besides politics, they, too, talked a lot about sports, the Noblesville Millers, Westfield Shamrocks, Purdue and IU and the Indiana Pacers.
“Dave would also tease me that I had more black and gold outfits than anyone he knew,” Williams said. “And he knew it was Friday because that was the day I always wear black and gold.”
I am told that there could be a City Proclamation declaring a Dave Tudor Day on Friday. A burial service is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Summit Lawn Cemetery in Westfield. Contributions may be made to Westfield Lions Club or Westfield High School Alumni Association.