Silent Keys
"Silent Key" is how amateur radio operators remember one of their own who has died. This page honors Indiana hams who have gone silent. Each entry links to the obituary or club notice it comes from; please go there for the full remembrance and for any service information.
Know of an Indiana amateur we should remember here, or see something to correct? Email campbell@indianahamradio.com.
Michael Lee "Mike" Thompson, KA9JWZ
Randall "Mark" Bickel, KC9EPE
Source: Indiana Funeral Care
Paul Edward Turner
Janice Kaye Jenkins, N9EEW
Source: Murphy-Parks Funeral Service
Elbert "Al" M. Ladd
Frederick Lawrence Kramer, KD9SAM
Source: Young Family Funeral Home
Scott Andrew Sowards, N9RRR
He was a ham radio enthusiast in his free time, alongside flying remote-control airplanes and working with tractors.
Source: Bartholomew Funeral Home
Marvin W. Abraham
He was proud to hold his amateur radio license and was an avid ham radio operator.
Source: Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.
Stephen Shepler, WA9RVM
A longtime licensed amateur radio operator known by his call sign, WA9RVM.
James Carl Hills, WD9JCE
He earned his amateur radio novice license in 1978 and spent many hours on the air from his desk and his RV under his call sign.
Source: Indiana Funeral Care & Crematory
David Wandrei, N9WCQ
He enjoyed being involved with an amateur radio club and the friendships that came with it.
Source: Gundrum Funeral Home
John E. Chalmers, W9GOO
First licensed at 14 and a lifelong CW operator, he led the Northeastern Indiana Amateur Radio Association from 2018 to 2024, a stretch in which the club grew from 34 members to more than a hundred, and helped start the Auburn Hamfest.
Source: The Courier
James Lee "Jimmy" Merry, Jr., KC9RPX
Source: Ferguson-Lee Chapel
William "Bicycle Bill" Leahy, K9RFK
A CW operator and longtime member of the Indianapolis Radio Club's testing team, he held ARRL volunteer examiner accreditation for nearly three decades and worked more than 170 exam sessions.
Source: Indianapolis Radio Club
Jocelynne (Joy) Fulk, N9LTR
The ARRL Indiana Section's June newsletter listed her among Indiana's silent keys. She held an active license and was better known locally as an Indiana Master Naturalist and birder.
Source: Flanner Buchanan Funeral Centers
Catherine Procarione, W9IFE
She served as treasurer of the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Association; the ARRL Indiana Section's June newsletter listed her among Indiana's silent keys.
Source: ARRL Indiana Section News
Betty Jo Hopson
She loved amateur radio and volunteered with the Huntington County Emergency Management Agency.
Source: Adkins Bailey-Love Mortuary
Carlos Lyndon Phillippe
James "Jim" William Griffey
Source: Thorne Family Funeral Homes
Brendan J. Wrynn, N3HZK
A member of the American Radio Relay League, licensed under the call sign N3HZK.