Former state Rep. Jack Lutz dies at 79
ANDERSON — Former State Representative Jack Lutz passed away Friday at age 79 following an extended illness.
Lutz served on the Madison County Council from 1983 through 1991 before being named in a Republican Party caucus to represent the 35th District at the Statehouse following the resignation of Pat Kiely.
Lutz served in the Indiana House from 1991 through 2014, when he lost a bid for an 11th term to Democrat Melanie Wright.
'Jack Lutz was a true representative of those who had elected him,' Russ Willis, former chairman of the Madison County Republican Party, said Monday. 'He didn't have personal agendas or try to build himself up using his position of elected leadership.'
Willis said Lutz was always friendly, personable and approachable.
'He was down to earth in his consideration of legislation that affected the people of his district,' he said.
Former county councilman Dan Dykes was elected by the caucus to replace Lutz on the county council in 1991.
'When I first got active in the party, Jack was on the council,' Dykes said. 'I always looked up to him and he was always nice to me.'
He said when Lutz took Kiely's seat in the Indiana House, he completed the term on the county council.
'He always had time for me,' Dykes said.
Dykes said Lutz was named freshman legislator the year after moving to the Statehouse and took his service to the county seriously.
'We stayed friends,' he said. 'I always valued his friendship and I always respected him.'
For his efforts and lifelong service to the community, Lutz received numerous awards, including Anderson's Man of the Year (1989), National Freshman Legislator of the Year (1992) and the Small Business Champion by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce (1999), among others.
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