Robert A. Conces Sr.

Robert A. Conces Sr., age 77, of Schererville, IN passed away suddenly on Saturday, July 11, 2009. He was born on June 20, 1932 to Vincent and Bernice Conces and grew up in East Chicago, IN. Robert is survived by his wife Joan E. McLellan Conces; children Robert Conces Jr. of Hammond, IN, Mark (Elizabeth) Conces of Wilmington, DE, Beth Ann (Dr. Arthur) Katz of Schererville, IN; daughter-in-law Sharon Conces of Highland, IN; stepchildren Tracy McLellan of Chicago, IL and Tawnee (Chris) Paliga of Chesterton, IN; grandchildren Christopher, Jamie, Erin, Molly and Andrew Conces; step-grandchildren Christopher, Dustin, Danielle and Kyle Paliga; brother Dewey (Shirley) Conces of Munster, IN; sister Roma (Fred) Cayia of Manistique, MI; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife Kathleen Conces and brother Donald Conces.Robert graduated from Indiana University after serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After retiring from Inland Steel in 1978 as its youngest 30-year retiree at the age of 46, Robert continued working in the steel industry in a number of entrepreneurial ventures, most recently as the owner of Tri-State Steel. He enjoyed gourmet cooking, gardening, reading and his dog Chippy.Visitation will be on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 from 3:00-8:00 PM with a prayer service at 3:30 PM at Kish Funeral Home 10000 Calumet Ave. (next to Fitness Pointe) Munster, IN and Wednesday from 10:00-10:30 AM at Our Lady of Grace Church, Highland, IN. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 10:30 AM at Our Lady of Grace Church with Fr. Edward Moszur officiating; Interment: Ridgelawn Cemetery, Gary, IN. The family requests that contributions to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) be made in his memory.