George Lewis "Lew" Hackleman III

George Lewis “Lew” Hackleman III, 86, of Terre Haute, passed away at Westminster Village with his loved ones in attendance on Thursday night, August 1, 2024.

Lew was born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on January 16, 1938 to George Lewis Hackleman and Zella Estella Tatum Hackleman.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Katherine Ellen King “Kathy” Hackleman; his sister and brother-in-law, Jo and Webb Carter; and his parents. He is survived by his daughter, Kim Hackleman; son-in-law, Mike Harvey; and grandsons, Max and Zach Harvey; son, Hal Hackleman; partner, Chris Schellenberg; nieces, Kathy Boss, Leigh Carter, and Claire Hillman; Kathy’s siblings and their children; as well as other family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Before starting school, Lew became an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan. He forged life-long friendships throughout school and university. He graduated from high school in Oklahoma with a 4.0 GPA and as co-valedictorian. He attended Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma from 1956 through 1961, graduating with BME (voice) and BA (humanities; theatre emphasis). Here he met Kathy, when she worked as assistant director on a play he was directing. They married on August 19,1962 at Grand Avenue Christian Church in Bozeman, Montana. Her family welcomed him as one of their own. Kathy passed away on August 4, 2019 after 56 years of a marriage filled with mutual respect and love. He attended the University of Minnesota from 1963-1966. Kim was born February 14, 1966. He earned an MA (theatre) and secured a job at Indiana State University (ISU).

On September 10, 1966, Lew began working in the theatre division of the Department of Speech at ISU as an assistant scenic designer and assistant technical director. Hal was born November 17, 1967. Lew was named designer and technical director at the beginning of the 1968-69 academic year and Summer Theatre designer and technical director the following summer. Although already a tenured Associate Professor, Lew moved the family to Eugene Oregon in 1974, to pursue a doctorate at the University of Oregon. In 1977, Lew returned ABD to start a new role as acting teacher and director at ISU. Lew was Director of the Theater Summer Honors Program. He brought many students into the department through this and his relationships with high school drama teachers across the region. In 1990, Lew performed at the Kennedy Centre playing Eldon in Downwinder Dance. In 1995, Lew and Kathy spent a sabbatical semester in Hawaii, where Lew studied theatre and Tai Chi. Lew was interim chair of the theatre department, Artistic Director (AD) of ISU SummerStage in 1999 and 2000 and co-AD in 2001.

On December 18, 2004, Lew retired from teaching. Throughout his 38-year career with the ISU Department of Theatre, he designed scenery for approximately 40 productions, directed close to 60 plays and musicals, acted in countless plays and taught in all areas of theatre except costuming. After retirement, he continued to act and direct professionally at ISU SummerStage, Crossroads Repertory Theatre, Shawnee Theatre, and Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre and acquired an agent for commercial work. He felt thankful to have worked with an incredible array of talented teachers, actors, directors, designers, and students while at ISU and beyond, many of which remained friends throughout his life.

Over the years, Lew sang in the choir of Unity Presbyterian Church, was a member of Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity, and served on the boards of Arts Illiana and Community Theatre of Terre Haute (CTTH). In May 2023, Lew was asked to appear in “She Loves Me” for CTTH, which was also the first play he worked on when he came to ISU. This was to be his final bow. He enjoyed traveling throughout Great Britain, Europe, and the USA. He and his grandsons loved being together, whatever they were doing. And in Spring 2020, he began a wonderful partnership with Chris Schellenberg which brought him much joy and comfort for the rest of his life.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at Unity Presbyterian Church, 1207 E. Springhill Dr., Terre Haute, IN 47802. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:30 pm on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at Indiana State University - New Theatre, 536 N. 7th St., Terre Haute, IN 47809. Crossroads Repertory Theatre performances of The Wizard of Oz will be dedicated to Lew.

If you would like to honor Lew, in lieu of flowers, we welcome donations to the Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship:

Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship:

This scholarship has being established by Chris Schellenberg (in honour of her partner, Lew Hackleman, and her friend Kathy Hackleman) and Kim and Hal Hackleman (in honour of their parents). The endowment of this scholarship has been ensured by Chris Schellenberg.

The intent is to provide scholarship support to a student returning for their sophomore year who has given their time and talent to the Indiana State University Department of Theatre during their freshman year. It is also to celebrate and honour the lives of Lew and Kathy Hackleman, who joyfully gave decades of support to many theatre students during and after Lew’s time on the faculty, receiving, they would say, just as much in return.

If you would like to donate, you can do so in the following ways:

Give Online:

Donate on the Indiana State University Foundation website: https://givetoindianastate.org

Under “Designation” select “Other” from the drop-down menu and then type in “Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship” and complete the rest of the online form which is self-explanatory.

Give by Telephone:

The Indiana State University Foundation would be happy to answer any questions or assist you with your gift over the phone on 812-237-6100. Just be sure to mention that you would like your donation to go to the “Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship”.

Give by Mail:

You can send a check with “Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship” in the memo line directly to the Indiana State University Foundation at 30 N. 5th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47809.

Give at the ISU Foundation Office:

Indiana State University Foundation is located at 30 N. 5th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47809 and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm (EST). Again, specify you would like your donation to go to the “Lew and Kathy Hackleman Scholarship”.

Make your donation go further with a matching gift.

Many employers match the charitable donations, which could double or triple your contribution. Check to see if your company will match your donation to Indiana State. https://www.matchinggifts.com/indstate_iframe

Courtney Zellars at the ISU Foundation, is happy to help with your donation queries.