Cassopolis Event Chairman, Keith Kirkdorfer, Passed Away

Funeral: Wednesday, May 14 at 11 a.m.

The Kirkdorfer Farms shop

67722 N Shore Dr.

Edwardsburg, MI  49112

Interment will be in Reames & Norton Cemetery, Cassopolis

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, May 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Kirkdorfer Farms shop.

Memorials may be made to the Cass County Fair Association.

EDWARDSBURG, Mich. -- Keith Duane Kirkdorfer, 59, of 67722 N. Shore Drive, died Friday (May 9, 2008) at home.

He was born May 28, 1948 in Three Rivers, Mich., the son of Duane P. and Gearl Dean (Trussell) Kirkdorfer. He was a lifetime area resident.

Keith married the former Cynthia R. Miller on Dec. 14, 1996 in South Bend. She survives. Keith is also survived by two daughters, Michelle Jensen of Edwardsburg and Laura Cook of Mishawaka; two step-children, Cameron (Karla) Mendenhall and Brooke (Scott) Krupp both of Edwardsburg; seven grandchildren, Nathan Krupp, Cole Krupp, Drew Jones, Isaiah Cook, Micah Cook, Elijah Cook and Elaine Cook; one sister, Linda (Chuck) Starkweather of Temple, Texas; parents, Duane P. and Gearl Dean Kirkdorfer of Edwardsburg; one nephew, C.T. (Julie) Starkweather of Conroe, Texas; one aunt, Judith (Earl) Gladbach of Kansas City, Mo.; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Ted and Joyce Miller of Niles, Mich.; one sister-in-law, Pam (Elgon) Ellis of Brimley, Mich. and her children, Aaron Asmus, Aarick Asmus and Landon Asmus; and one brother-in-law, Joe (Lily) Miller of Arlington, Texas, and his three children.

Keith was the owner/operator of Kirkdorfer Farms, Edwardsburg, and had worked at Miles Laboratories, Elkhart, and with White Farm Equipment from 1972-1983. He was a member of Michigan Bio-Diesel in Bangor, Mich. He was on the Board of Managers with Liberty Renewable Fuels, Ithaca, Mich. He served on the Jefferston Township Board for four years, the Jefferston Township planning commission for seven years, served on the Edwardsburg Fire Department board for four years and was a former member of the fire department. He was a treasurer with the Cass County Tractor Pullers Association and he built the track for the tractor pulls at the Cass County Fair. He and his workers also built the stage at the fairgrounds, and was on the sponsorship committee for the fair. He was a candidate for the Cass County Commissioner in 2002. He served on the HOC Farmland Preservation Committee and was a member of the Cass County Farm Bureau Board. He was a lifelong member of 4-H, and the 5-H horse clubs. Keith was the top soy bean producer in the state of Michigan in 2006 and 2007, and in 2007, was the largest seed corn grower for Pioneer Seeds at their Plymount, Ind., plant. He was instrumental in helping pass the Cass County Farmland Preservation ordinance in 2007. He was also a member of the 110 Bushel Soy Bean Club and the 300 Bushel Corn Club.