A Celebration of
Life will be held for Herbert Philo Read on Saturday, February 1, at St.
John’s United Church of Christ, 225 W. Lincoln Ave., Chesterton, IN.
Visitation will
begin at 10 30 a.m., with the Service at 12:00 Noon. A lunch will be served
after the service.
Dunes
Preservationist, Husband, Father, Architect, WW II Navy Veteran, Steam
Locomotive Chaser, Pilot, Antique Automobile Collector, Story Teller,
Friend.
All are welcome to
attend a Celebration of Life Service for Herbert Philo Read, 93, who spent
the greater part of his life working to preserve the Indiana Dunes. He knew
and photographed the Indiana Dunes in their undisturbed grandeur, before
many of those Dunes were lost to intensive industrial and commercial
development. It became his life’s work to preserve for future generations
what remained of that precious natural treasure. In 1952, Herbert married
the love of his life, Charlotte Johnson, who shared his love for the Dunes.
So began their life partnership as passionate and committed protectors of
the natural environment.
They worked
tirelessly with other faithful volunteers and after gathering citizen
petitions and testifying before Congress several times, the result was a
successful effort to establish the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966.
Over the following decades they worked to expand and safeguard the park
which is now the seventh most visited National Park in the United States. On
March 12, 2019, Herbert and Charlotte were honored with a standing ovation
by the State of Indiana Legislature at the State Capitol Building during a
ceremony marking the park’s becoming officially the Indiana Dunes National
Park. Herbert and Charlotte were founding members of the Porter County
Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, and Herbert served as its
first president. They were longtime active members of the Save the Dunes
Council.
Herbert and
Charlotte fostered a lifelong love of the outdoors in their children John,
Jim, David, Suzy, and Bill. Herbert passionately loved his family including
his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He took great joy in their
visits, accomplishments, photographs, and stories.