Douglas W. "Doug" Aden

Douglas W. "Doug" Aden, 91, of Syracuse, IN passed away at 5:30 a.m. on Friday, December 29, 2017 at his daughter's home in Tulsa, OK. He was born on August 9, 1926 in Chicago, IL to James & Jean Miller (Georgeson) Aden.

He graduated in 1944 from Thornton Township High School in Harvey, IL and was a United States Navy veteran. During his enlistment he was selected to take the “Eddy” test. 10 were chosen to take the test and only 2 passed. Doug and a 2nd year student from Purdue. He was inducted in the school of Radio & Radar Technology Program.

He attended 2 years at Thornton Junior College, and graduated in 1951 with his BS Degree from Iowa State University’s School of Electrical Engineering Program. While in college he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon, a social fraternity, and held an office for 2 years. He also was a member of the Iowa State Singers for 3 years and held the office of President.  He participated in many theatrical productions, playing principal parts in ‘The Mikado’, “H.M.S. Pinafore’, and “Angel Street’.

He was married in 1954 in Thornton, IL to Erlene Hansen who preceded him in August 1998.  He moved to the Syracuse in the late 1970’s from Tinley Park, IL and was married on February 16, 2002 to Sheila I. (Bell) Bowen who survives.

He was formerly employed at Honeywell, where he helped with the design of the electrical installation for the Prudential Building in Chicago, IL, Royal McBee with 1st generation computers, and Conant Broach as a developer of computer programs in the design for broaching tools.  He retired in 1992 and was a self-employed cabinet masker (Following in his father’s footsteps) and attained a patent for the development of a vending machine for Wickman Company.  After moving to Syracuse he was employed for sea Nymph and Maple Leaf farms, introducing computer systems.

He was a member of the North Webster Church of God, where he and Pastor Paul Reigel worked together to introduce video technology. He still manned the camera the 1st Sunday of each month until the time of his passing. He was an avid golfer early on and participated in many company tournaments, two of which he won. In 2012 he received the Heart of Gold Award for “extraordinary acts of kindness to others’ by the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

He is survived by:

Wife – Sheila Aden of Syracuse

Daughter – Ivy (Frank) Rabe of Tulsa, OK

4 Step Sons – Brent Bowen of Murphysboro, TN, Bryan Bowen of Leesburg, Derek (Danielle) Bowen of Huntsville, Al, and David (Rachel) Bowen of Indianapolis

5 Grandchildren – Jacob (Heather) Mikolajzak, Steven (Kristin) Mikolajzak, James (Abby) Mikolajzak, Andy Mikolajzak, and Hannah Rabe.

6 Step Grandchildren – Reagan Bowen, Zachary Bowen, Brian Rabe, Megan Bowen, Matt Bowen, and Anne (Jason) Cline

Several Great Grandchildren

He was preceded in death by his parents, and 1st wife.

Visitation will be from 12:00 Noon – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at Owen Family Funeral Home, 1001 S. Huntington St., Syracuse, IN. Memorial services will follow at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in the funeral home with Pastor Jeff Boyer officiating.

Preferred memorials may be given to WNIT Public Television, 300 W Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601 or Salvation Army, 501 E. Arthur Street, Warsaw, IN 46582.