Legacy of a LIfe Well Lived

“There is a strange charm in the hope of a good legacy that wonderfully reduces the sorrow people otherwise may feel for the death of their relatives and friends”
                       -Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra  


Two things were compellingly clear after attending Wednesday's Memorial Service for Dave Kachel: The man left an incredible legacy.  His was a life well lived.  


Prayers, hymns, warm stories, and testimonies filled the First United Methodist Church in Whitewater on Wednesday afternoon.  The overflow crowd, the raw emotion, and the glowing words of family, friends, and dignitaries all spoke to the way Dave lived his life.  


Pastor David Kalas recalled fondly his first encounter with Dave, in which Dave told him proudly, "I have seven kids. They are all educated. They all have a job. And none of them are divorced." The Pastor went on to note that Dave was giving him a glimpse of his three prized values: education, hard work, and family.  


Dave's generosity to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the community of Whitewater is legendary.  His contribution went much farther than writing a check. He rallied (required?) people together to push forward together until a project got done.  He was largely responsible for the existence of the food pantry in Whitewater and he contribute greatly to the local school district.  A list of his accomplishments can be found Here.


Dave exuded strength, both in his personality and in his character.  That strength allowed him to accomplish more than most any other human being any of us will ever know.  That strength also allowed him to hide a tender, loving, compassionate heart from all but the relatively few he allowed to know about it.  


Dave's strength, leadership, compassion, and generosity changed a university and a community.  More importantly, his strength, leadership, compassion, and generosity changed lives.  


I didn't spend nearly as much time with Dave as those who knew him best. But I spent enough time with him to see and experience the qualities that made him so successful and admirable.  Dave was authentic. It didn't take long to figure out he didn't live with a shred of pretense. What you saw was what you got.  He wasn't nearly as concerned with what people thought of him as most of us.  And that gave him a certain freedom.  A freedom to speak his mind. A freedom to be himself. A freedom to lead with strength.  In many respects, Dave lived like most of us wish we could.  Could he be gruff? Absolutely. Was there a tender heart underneath the gruffness?  Without fail.  


Whitewater, UW-W, and many lives are better because of Dave Kachel.  He didn't just leave a good legacy. DLK left a great legacy.   It will take awhile for the sorrow to be reduced for those  who  knew him.  Not only will we remember him always, but we will be better for having known him.