Wayne Gerald Plush

November 26, 1939, in Toledo, Ohio, he was a son of Wayne H Plush, and Doris (Wilson) Tadt. He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Napoleon, Ohio, and proudly served his country in the United States Navy.

After his time serving his country in the Pacific Ocean aboard the USS Samuel N. Moore (DD-747), Wayne graduated from the Police Academy at Toledo University. He served as a patrolman in Sylvania, Ohio as well as a Chief-of-Police for the city of Fayette, Ohio. He also spent nearly 30 years as a journeyman electrician and eventually became a locksmith.

Wayne married “the most beautiful woman in the world” and the love of his life in 1974. Together Wayne and Kathleen shared a daughter, Christina. In 1975 they made their home in Dubuque, Iowa where Wayne worked for John Deere as an industrial electrician. Dubuque always held a special place in his heart and he always considered it his “home”. He loved playing euchre, roller skating, camping and fishing. He taught himself how to build meat smokers and spent many years perfecting the art of smoking meats of all kinds.

In 1987 he left John Deere and moved his family back to Ohio. They settled in Defiance where Wayne worked and eventually retired from Johns Manville. He was a lifelong learner. Following his retirement from Johns Manville he became a locksmith and built a mobile workshop from an ambulance. He was proudly known as “The Lock Doctor” in Defiance, Ohio.

Wayne is survived by his wife of 48 years, Kathleen (Carter) Plush; their daughter, Christina (Thomas) Wiler; daughter Dianna (Robert) Walsh; daughter Sandra (Jose) Garcia; son Wayne (Stacie) Plush II; daughter Cylinda Prater; son John (Loretta) Mock and son Samuel (Kathleen) Mock. Nothing made him more proud than his grandchildren: Adrian, Kayla, Matthew, Lucas, Eric, Emma, Maxwell, Elissa, Dylan, David, Robert, Ryan, Randy, Wayne, William and his great-granddaughter Meadow. Also surviving are his brother James (Dixie) Plush; sister Vicky Huston and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Carol; and grandson, Adrian.

Calling for friends and family will begin at 11:30am with the funeral service following at 1:30pm, Friday, January 20, 2023, at Concordia Lutheran Church, 4245 Lake Ave, Fort Wayne. Burial will be in Concordia Cemetery Gardens, Fort Wayne. Memorial donations may be given to the family. Arrangements have been entrusted to D.O. McComb and Sons Maplewood Park Funeral Home, 4017 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne.