An artist who left his mark on a variety of Niles businesses died Tuesday, at the age of 63.
John Lidecker might have referred to himself as the “world’s most ‘unfamous’ artist,” but those who knew Lidecker remember him as a community celebrity.
Often dressed in a Hawaiian style shirt, socks and flip flops, and a straw hat, Lidecker’s fashion sense was as signature as his artwork.
For Mayor Nick Shelton, Lidecker’s legacy is one easily spotted along Main Street’s businesses.
“It’s going to be easy for us to remember John Lidecker,” Shelton said. “Not because of his philosophical rhetoric, his throw-your-head-back guffaw, his hand-printed ‘beast’ of a brown van or his kaleidoscopic shirts. We will remember John Lidecker because he is everywhere.”
In 2015, Lidecker designed the turquoise-backed sign for the fishing store Rusty Hooks, with its larger-than-life fish being baited.
Over the years, he designed countless others. Among them are the signs for the Missing Sock Laundromat, Tippy Toes, Brew Ha Ha and the Niles Main Street initiative logo.
Perhaps most captivating about his work was his ability to tell a businesses story through a sign, said Lisa Croteau, the Niles Main Street Downtown Development Authority director.
“They are all are very individualized and very representative of the businesses that are there and that is a true, true talent,” Croteau said.
Croteau worked with Lidecker for more than 18 years, and credits him for helping to spur a resurgence of downtown businesses along Main Street.
Now, an array of businesses , including restaurants, salons and dance studios, have signs which draw residents from all over Michiana to their doors.
Lidecker was a Niles High School graduate who went on to earn his bachelor’s of arts degree at Southwestern Michigan College.
Prior to creating signs, Lidecker was working as a delivery boy for a print company, according to a Facebook post, dated July 15, 2015.
In 2007, after quitting his job, a friend asked Lidecker to create a logo for his business, the “Iguana Beach Golf Club.” Lidecker took him up on the project and found his artistic calling in sign work.
“Signs are a way of navigat’n,” he wrote. “Signs have been my ‘Ship’s Wheel’ thru this Life o’mine.”
Lidecker was also a Jimmy Buffet fan and self proclaimed “tropical gypsy,” so he found himself at home when an opportunity to explore Nicaragua arose.
A friend had asked Lidecker to spend a month designing his restaurant and bar logo in the Central American country and Lidecker jumped at the chance.
Art was a language for Lidecker. In the same post, Lidecker wrote about his attempts to communicate with locals with a limited Spanish vocabulary. Displaying the innovation known to his character, Lidecker said he would draw pictures in the sand as a form of speech.
Lidecker later returned to Niles, where his knack for creating unique artwork would continue to pervade the community.
Tom Majerek, who coordinates the Niles Bluegrass Festival and co-owns the business Michiana Delivery Service, became friends with Lidecker in 1995.
Lidecker created a sign for his delivery service, capturing the business’s goal to reach customers quickly.
“He came back with the MDS logo that had streaks coming off of it like it was moving fast, and above it, he drew a cheetah running in the same direction,” Majerek said. “When people see that logo, they think of us and [being] fast.”
Additionally, Majerek said with Lidecker’s help they were able to revive the river raft races that had died out after years of being a tradition.
The community would get together at that time and decorate rafts to sail down the St. Joseph River from what was called the Old Fire House down to Marmont Street.
“He put a visual look on the raft race that was fun,” Majerek said.
In addition to advertising and promoting the race, Lidecker created coveted T-shirts and helped to make the race a fun time for all with his signature humor.
For the last raft to sail down the river, Lidecker painted a “The end,” sign bearing a gluteus maximus. Raft riders on this raft went along with the humor and wore plastic derrieres.
“He was part crazy and part genius,” Majerek said. “He was on both ends of the spectrum. He was John. You could not shake him. He was not going to be anyone else.”
Lidecker’s clear love of art could also be found in his generosity.
Oftentimes as a form of payment, Lidecker would accept cookies or a beer instead of cash.
“John has probably done [more than] 100 projects,” Majerek said. “I don’t think I have ever paid him a penny.”
His generosity extended into summer camps, where he also worked with youth.
The cause of Lidecker’s death has not been revealed. His family could not be reached before press time.

The community is invited to attend Lidecker’s life remembered service:

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18
Where: Front Street Pizza, 510 N. Front St., Niles
Attire: Those attending are asked to wear Hawaiian shirts, flip flops with socks, sunglasses and straw hats.
Auction: There will also be a silent auction of Lidecker’s art.