Rare Lake County Indiana GOP officeholder dies at 77

SCHERERVILLE, Ind. — The first Republican in 50 years to win a countywide office in northwestern Indiana's Lake County has died just days after resigning for health reasons.

Hank Adams had stepped down as Lake County assessor on Tuesday. Jean Shepherd tells The Times of Munster and the Post-Tribune that her 77-year-old husband died Sunday at home in Schererville after fighting bone cancer for more than a year.

Adams was a township assessor in suburban Lake County for 16 years before narrowly winning the county office in the 2010 election. He defeated a Democratic candidate who faced misdemeanor perjury charges for not telling Indiana officials she also had a Michigan driver's license.

Adams earlier was a Schererville town councilman and for many years owned television and furniture stores.