Kerwin Plevka, 54, the assistant director of photography for the Houston Chronicle, was found dead in his home Friday, Feb. 11. A heart attack was determined to be the the cause of his death. He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Olivia; his brother, John; his mother, Eileen; and ex-wife Ingrid. Please read more about Kerwin and his achievements at www.nppa.org, about the lovely thoughts from across the nation posted on www.sportsshooter.com and Kerwin's obit written by Todd Ackerman of the Houston Chronicle where you will also find a slide show with a sample of Kerwin's work. There was a memorial service on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. at the Calvary Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home in Humble, Tx. A Kansas funeral was held at the Presbyterian Church in Belleville on Saturday, Feb. 19. A private family burial was held at Kopsa Cemetery near Cuba, Ks. He was born in Concordia but grew up in Belleville.

Thoughts about Kerwin by a longtime friend

Just before Kerwin's service in Belleville, his brother, John, said he'd welcome any stories I could tell. I told him my favorite is also one of the oldest, but I wasn't sure it was fit for a church service. I told it anyway, slightly modifying the key part:
In the fall of '67 Ker and I were in a journalism class of 8 or 10 people who produced, for the first time at our little high school, a paper printed on a press rather than a mimeograph machine. I was editor and Kerwin the photog. We slaved over that first edition and were very proud when it rolled off the press at the local weekly paper. Only then did we discover that the P1 photo -- the first ever! -- had a little surprise. The shot was taken from the front of a classroom and there, way at the top in the doorway in the back of the room, was a hand from someone outside the room, exhibiting a one-finger salute. It was the first important lesson in editing (and humility) for a couple of 17-year-old newspapermen-to-be. We seldom got together without laughing about it.
Kerwin was a great pal for 40 years. I'm proud of his accomplishments and his friendship. I miss him. by Jim Cook who is the of Managing Editor Parsons Sun