PLYMOUTH - Paul Dena Rager, 86, a Pretty Lake area resident in Plymouth, died at 5:16 p.m. May 10, 2010, in his home following an illness.
He was born March 23, 1924, to Paul W. Rager and Henrietta Williamson Rager. On April 2, 1967, in Anderson, he married Barbara McKinney who survives.
He was a veteran of World War I, serving as a paratrooper with the 334th, a special unit attached to the 101st Screaming Eagles Airborne Division. He served from 1943 to 1946 in Italy and France.
He graduated from Pierceton High School in 1942 and Manchester College in 1949. He went on to receive a master's degree in administration and education from Indiana University in 1954.
He served many years in the education field. He was a high school teacher and coach at Sidney High School from 1949 to 1950. He taught fifth grade in the Monticello School System and served as junior high track and football coach from 1954 to 1959. He spent six years as the South Whitley High School principal from 1959 to 1965 and 12 years as the Akron elementary and junior high principal from 1965 to 1977. His last principal's position was at West Elementary from 1977 to 1990 in Plymouth.
After retirement in 1990, he served as a student teacher supervisor for Ball State University and IUSB. In fall 2000, he was asked to serve as the interim principal for Webster School in Plymouth.
He was a past member of the South Whitley and Akron Lions Club and Akron United Methodist Church. He served as president of District Area 5 of the Indiana Association of School Principals. He was also a past member of the Plymouth Country Club, where he was an avid golfer, and served on the board.
He took many weddings and school yearbook pictures. He was a life member of the U.S. Chess Federation and taught hundreds of children to play chess at his schools and at the Plymouth Boys and Girls Clubs. Along with several of his friends, he built six Y-Flyer sailboats and helped start the Y-Flyer Fleet on Winona Lake and served as the fleet commander. Later, when he moved to Akron he sailed C Scows on Lake Manitou, Rochester, and served as the Fleet Commander.
Also surviving are three daughters: Pam (and spouse Mike) McFarland, Akron; Rene (and spouse Shauli) Rosen-Rager, Hemet, Calif.; and Christa Smith, Zionsville; a son, Delmar Rager, New Orleans, La.; five grandchildren: Bethany, Ryan, Yoni, Chelsea and Austin; one great-grandchild; a brother, Jack Rager, Pierceton; and two sisters, Marilee Bailey, Pierceton, and Nancy Schuman, Del Norte, Colo. He was preceded in death by his parents and a daughter, Judith Rager.
A family memorial celebration will be held at a later date.
No calling is planned.
Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, Plymouth is in charge of arrangements.
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Memorials to Marshall County Boys and Girls Club, 314 E. Jefferson St., Plymouth, IN 46563; Plymouth Public Library, 201 N. Center St., Plymouth, IN 46563; Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, 112 S. Center St., Suite C, Plymouth, IN 46563.
