Greg Kincaid

Greg Kincaid, 62, of Palestine, IL, passed away in the comfort of his home on August 3, 2025. He was born on April 30, 1963, in Terre Haute, IN, and grew up in rural Palestine, where farming wasn’t just a job...it was in his blood. By the age of five, his dad had already strapped him to the tractor with a belt to keep him from falling off. From that moment on, it was hard to keep Greg away from a field.

As a young man, the only thing that could pull him away from the fields was the basketball court. He was a standout forward on the basketball team at Palestine High School: tall, talented, and all heart. He didn’t just play, he lived for it. He made friends wherever the game took him. Opposing teams, neighboring towns, pickup games that turned into lifelong friendships. And though he was, let’s say, “strongly encouraged” to play football in order to play basketball, it was never his first love. He could’ve gone on to play tight end at Iowa State, but home was where he wanted to be. He traded that dream for something more important: being there for the people he loved and the farm that raised him.

Farming wasn’t just in Greg’s blood...it was Greg. He loved the way the soil smelled when spring began. He saw potential in every broken-down part. Nothing was too far gone to fix, too worn out to wear, or too small to save for later. And yet, for all his grit and work ethic, he never let farming come before family. He made time for the people he loved. He was fiercely present, especially when it came to Graydon and Abby. One example? He showed up to one of Graydon’s games sick with COVID, and even though he threw up at halftime, he stuck it out to root for his boy. And Abby? Every birthday, she and her friends got a hayride: tractor, wagon, haybales, and all. That’s the kind of dad he was.

He’d make breakfast sandwiches for the kids before school, watch WWII documentaries in the evenings, and blare his favorite music from his bedroom when there was nothing good on TV. The Beatles. Led Zeppelin. Queen. Pink Floyd. You know...the good stuff. Speaking of “the good stuff”, if you ever caught him on a Friday evening at Fuller’s barn, you’d find him laughing ’til his gut hurt, retelling the same dumb stories like it was the first time. That same joy carried into Christmas traditions, too, like penny beer runs to Vincennes with his friend, Doug. If you were a fly on the wall, you’d quickly realize that they had their own strange shorthand, a way of talking to each other that no one else could quite follow.

He loved his people, and “his people” included just about everyone. He had no tolerance for someone stranded on the side of the road. If you were broken down, he was stopping. That’s just who he was. He was still helping people long after his body started to give out. Even when he was in pain, he showed up. Quietly. Faithfully. That same steady presence showed up in the way he lived out his faith. He didn’t make a big show of it, but he was a longtime member (and at one point, a deacon) of Outer West Market Church of Christ. Whether it was serving at church or striking up a conversation with someone new, Greg had a way of making people feel valued.

Greg was a passionate man with strong opinions. He believed in God. He believed dogs were man’s best friend. He was a proud American and an even prouder dad. He was a man of conviction and kindness, of laughter and loyalty. He didn’t need much to be happy. Give him good company, a working truck, and the smell of spring soil, and he was content. He didn’t live flashy. But he lived fully. Fully present. Fully devoted. Fully Greg.

He is survived by his children, Abigail Grace and husband Nick Clark, and Graydon Michael Kincaid; by his significant other, DeAnn Whitmer; and by his nieces and nephews, Tammy & Donnie Paddock, Troy & Geline Kincaid, Todd & Barb Kincaid, and Heather & Brad Atchison. He was preceded in death by his parents, Graydon Junior Kincaid & Patricia (Adams) Kincaid; by his brother & sister-in-law, Roscoe & Cynthia Kincaid; and by his nephew, Eric Scott Kincaid.

A time of visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Palestine. A memorial service will immediately follow at 1:00 p.m., with Dave Maxwell and Curt Goodwine officiating. In honor of Greg’s love for dogs, memorials may be made to the Crawford County Humane Society, with envelopes available at the funeral home.