Paul Canady, 86, passed away peacefully in his sleep January 2, 2025 at his Munster home. Paul was a sweet-natured, humble and intelligent man who retired, after 36 years, as a manager from the former Inland Steel Company. He then worked another 16 years for the Sandridge Bank in Highland as a travel club assistant, maintenance and courier.

Not one to sit around after retirement, Paul and his wife of 60 years, Margaret, began volunteering at the St. Joseph Soup Kitchen in Hammond, Ind. Not only did the volunteer staff and managers there love him for his work ethic, reliability and willingness to take on any job, but the homeless clients embraced his kindness, generosity and good humor. When Paul conversed with the clients, he’d joke about his Chicago Bears or the weather and always wished them good health and many blessings. He cared about others. Those who volunteered with Paul were daily reminded of his commitment to his faith, friends and fellow humans.

Paul Canady was born December 4, 1938 at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Indiana to Paul and Alice Canady (nee Yurko), the only boy in a brood of three sisters. He graduated from Harrison Elementary School, and later, Roosevelt High School in 1956, both in East Chicago.

“Dad had a heart murmur from a childhood bout of rheumatic fever,” recounted Paul’s older son, San Francisco Tech Executive Kevin Canady. “So, he couldn’t play sports, but was an avid fan of all Chicago teams. He got into drafting and was hired by Inland Steel while he was still in high school to work in the Machine Shop at Inland.” He met his wife, Margaret Borck of Lansing, IL when both stood up for his cousin’s 1963 wedding. The couple, known to close friends and family as “Butch” and “Pinky,” married the following year. “He was really shy and never called me. At first, he was as quiet as a mouse,” Margaret Canady chuckled. “But once he started talking, I couldn’t shut him up. He loved telling stories.”

Paul was promoted at Inland’s Machine Shop to a managerial position, yet still maintained lifetime relationships with his former co-workers. Long after retirement, he still met with his former co-workers for monthly lunches until just before his death. Richard Canady of Griffith, said he owed his older cousin, Paul, a huge debt for first encouraging him to become a machinist at Inland and years later, helping him to return to the Machine Shop after he’d left for another job. “Paul was a really good guy who was always trying to help others,” Richard Canady said. “I don’t think you could find anyone who’d say a bad word about him.” At Sandridge Bank Paul, worked closely with the Sandridge Travel Club, which enabled the Canadys to travel the world, with Paul chaperoning trips and chronicling those journeys with photos and stories.

Paul was a complicated man of many interests, a prostate cancer survivor, an avid reader of newspapers and military history books and a lifelong fan of the Chicago and Indiana University sports teams. But family was at the heart of Paul’s life. After marrying Margaret, he became a huge part of her family. “My brothers and sisters really are hurting now, too,” Margaret Canady said. His sister-in-law Michelle Kalemba of New Lennox, Illinois added: “I feel like I lost my own Dad. Paul filled the void after my father died.”

Christmas was his favorite time of the year, said Timothy Canady of Kenosha, Wisconsin Paul’s younger son, a retired U.S. Air Marshall who said his father collected Santa Clauses from around the world. “It would start at Thanksgiving and go into January. He’d string lights outside and put up a tree and set up the Lionel train set and just revel in the season. He was dedicated to my kids (Paul and Margaret’s only two grandchildren, Louis and Caroline Canady), just like when we were kids and he attended all of our baseball and football games. Dad was so proud of his kids and grandchildren’s accomplishments. If he bragged, it was about other people, a kind of selfless pride.” Kevin Canady said, “Our Dad was a modern man before his time. He never shunned housework or cooking responsibilities. There was never a hierarchy with our parents’ marriage. It was a real shared marriage of equals. They both helped do what needed to be done and supported each other and their sons.” Margaret Canady admitted her husband spoiled her and, “Did everything for me, from banking to grocery shopping, for 60 years. That’s just the way he was. Now I have to learn how to put gasoline in the car.”

At his 60th Wedding Anniversary Party in October he spoke to the gathered family and friends, reflecting on his children and marriage. Paul considered himself a lucky guy, someone blessed to have seen his children mature and succeed. “In 60 years they’ve grow up and gone and on their own. We’re proud of their accomplishments. We’ve had a good 60 years and have been fortunate enough to travel the country and see the world.”

Paul Canady is survived by his wife of 60 years, Margaret Canady, sons Kevin Canady and Timothy (Suzanne) Canady, and two grandchildren, Louis and Caroline Canady, and only remaining sister, Carol Tomczak of Hammond.

Visitation for Paul Canady will be held at Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Avenue, Munster, Indiana from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, followed by a Prayer
Service at the funeral home, and Burial Ceremony at Assumption Cemetery, 19500 S. Cottage Grove Avenue, Glenwood, Illinois. In lieu of flowers or cash donations, the Canady
family suggests donations to the St. Joseph Soup Kitchen, 5304 Hohman Avenue, Hammond, IN 46320.

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