(LaPorte County, IN) - A former longtime state lawmaker from LaPorte County is being remembered.  Mary Kay Budak, who lived near Michigan City, died Wednesday. She was a state representative for 26 years. 

Her successor was current LaPorte mayor Tom Dermody, who described Budak as a “wonderful lady but a finer public servant.” Budak was 89. Her last year as a state representative was 2006.