By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — Baby Tyler Jay Dickey doesn’t know it yet, but his young life changed on the same day as Judge Rudolph R. Pyle III’s.
In his first act as judge of the Madison Circuit Court, Pyle ordered adoption of the 20-month-old boy to his foster parents, Thomas and Margaret Dickey of Pendleton.
“It’s kind of cool to be a part of it,” Thomas Dickey said of the ceremony that also was attended by Gov. Mitch Daniels and courthouse well-wishers.
Dickey said he and his wife, who have three biological children ages 18, 16 and 10, felt called to be foster parents, but never intended to adopt. Instead, they hoped to care for Tyler until he could be reunited with his natural mother.
Things changed when Tyler’s mother’s rights were terminated. “We had developed that bond and wanted to keep him with us.”
“One thing that we hope would come form our adoption being more open than others is that the foster-kids system in Indiana is a great system and there are so many kids in need,” Dickey said.
He said the state assisted with their adoption and helped make it a smooth process. “You don’t have to go out of the country (to adopt) ... you can really fill a need there is out there in the community.”
Dickey said the ceremony will remain special for their son, who is black, in the years ahead.
“It was historic because of Judge Pyle being the first African-American judge,” he said. “It will be fun for (Tyler) to look back some day and see the part of history he was involved in.
“For us, we never saw Tyler as black or light-skinned,” Dickey said. “He was just a little baby who needed us.”
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
