Crash kills retired Noble County judge Kirsch

In a news release, Whitley County authorities said a 2003 Kenworth semi was traveling south on S.R. 9 when it went left of center, striking the 2017 Ford Escape Kirsch was driving head-on.

The driver of the semi was uninjured.

The crash remains under investigation by Whitley County police and the Indiana State Police.

Kirsch, who served on the Noble County bench from 2007-2022, submitted his resignation letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on July 9, 2021.

He remained on the bench until his governor-appointed replacement, Steven Clouse, was sworn into office in December 2021 after his appointment by Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Clouse said Tuesday he was shocked at the news.

“Judge Kirsch and I were in the same law office when I started practicing law,” Clouse said. “The devotion to his clients was impactful to me as a young attorney. For those of us who practiced in front of him as a judge, we knew how deeply he cared about the people in his court.

“Personally though, it was his devotion to his family — his wife Carol and their sons and grandchildren. Regardless of the setting, it was ever apparent that his family was his priority. His kindness and thoughtfulness will be his legacy.”

“It’s time for me to retire,” Kirsch had said in July 2021. “I’ll be 69 in January. It’s time for someone else. You reach a time in your life when it’s time to move on.”

Kirsch took office on Jan. 1, 2007. He was unopposed in 2012 and defeated Eric Blackman in the fall general election in 2018.

State judges in Indiana serve six-year terms.