Robert Kirsch Obituary, Death – Robert Kirsch, 69, a retired judge from Noble County Superior Court 1, died in a fatal vehicle crash on December 13, 2022. Kirsch was one of the occupants of one of the vehicles involved in a collision on State Route 9 near Cidermill Road about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department. According to a news release from Whitley County, a 2003 Kenworth semi was heading south on S.R. 9 when it swerved left of center and crashed head-on with Kirsch’s 2017 Ford Escape.
The semitruck driver escaped the crash unharmed. The investigation into the crash is being conducted by both the Whitley County police and the Indiana State Police. Kirsch handed forward his resignation letter to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on July 9, 2021. Kirsch formerly served on the Noble County Circuit Court from 2007 to 2022. He remained on the bench until December 2021, when his successor, Steven Clouse, chosen by the governor, took the oath of office.
Clouse voiced his surprise at the news on Tuesday. “Judge Kirsch and I worked together in the same law practice when I first began my career as a lawyer,” Clouse says. As a young lawyer, I was greatly affected by his dedication to his clients. Those of us who had the opportunity to argue before him as a judge witnessed the judge’s deep concern for the people who appeared before him. “However, it was his steadfast dedication to his family, which included his wife Carol, their sons, and their grandchildren, that stood out on a personal level. Everyone knew that his family was the most important thing in his life, no matter what. His legacy will be the kindness and benevolence with which he treated others.
Kirsch was cited as saying in July 2021, “It’s time for me to retire.”” I’ll be 69 years old in January. It’s time for someone else to take over. Everyone must recognize that it is time to move on at some point in their lives. Kirsch was sworn in as President on January 1, 2007. He faced no opposition in 2012, and he defeated Eric Blackman in the general election conducted in the fall of 2018. County judges in Indiana are elected for a six-year term.
