Donald N Stoiche

Donald Neil Stoiche, 87, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 10, 2021. Born to James and Dorothy Stoiche (Michael) during the Depression years (September 24, 1934), he was a lifetime resident of Fort Wayne.

Don and his brother Ron were inseparable growing up in both goodness and mischief. He adored and doted on his younger siblings Nancy (Allsen) and Dennis, who looked up to him with equal fondness. He graduated from North Side High School in 1952. He joined the Navy in 1953 and served as a radarman on the SS NOA, traveling the world.

His sister’s matchmaking efforts paid off when he was introduced to his sweet Delores Jean Myers. They married on January 17, 1959 and promptly began building a family of 7 and a lifetime together.

For more than 30 years, Don held a variety of positions at International Harvester, occasionally picking up extra shifts to provide for his growing family. As if the chaos inflicted upon him from raising 5 rowdy children wasn’t enough, he added 10 more years to his sentence working as a school bus driver after retiring from Harvester.

Don liked fishing, astronomy, gardening, planes, Ovaltine at midnight, an occasional Swisher Sweets cigar, golf and Tiger Woods, NASCAR and Jeff Gordon, and especially baseball and the Cubs. For most of his life, Dee prepared 3 meals a day, nearly 365 days a year, for the family of 7. After retirement, though, Don developed a passion for cooking. He rarely used a recipe for his culinary creations, and if he did, it was most certainly tweaked to his tastes. Sometimes his interests were combined, like the summer an overabundance of eggplant in his garden turned into 15 ways to prepare it, none of which a single one of his children had a use for. His interests were diverse, as he taught by example that life is too short not to indulge in everything that interests you.

He disliked Trump, insubordination among the ranks of his children, wasting food, and especially anyone who didn’t like the Cubs. There was no need for a garbage disposal in the Stoiche household, as every meal culminated in Don summoning for unclear plates to be passed to the head of the table for “cleaning.”

Don was a consummate handyman, a “man’s man” who could fix anything – appliances, plumbing, electrical issues, broken hearts, bad days, cars, and a heating/cooling expert (“Shut the door! We’re not heating the neighborhood!” and “Point the window fan away from your face, toward the outdoors so it’ll pull the hot air out!”) – all with equal proficiency. He even built the wood workbenches in the garage and basement workshops from whence all subsequent wood projects originated.

All who knew Don well knew of his aptitude for soliloquies and attention to detail. If these qualities were combined in one event, such as his maps for reaching a destination, it would absolutely be quicker to just drive to the place than to digest the meticulously sequenced instructions. The irony is not lost on me that my siblings refused to let me write the newspaper obituary in a manner deemed fit to properly eulogize him, as I am my father’s daughter.

Family was everything to Don. Kind and nurturing, he used his gift for monologues to bestow valuable life lessons on his children: the importance of money management, the value of strong work ethic, respect, honesty, everything important to know about baseball and the Cubs, and understanding the difference between when to be serious and how to not take things so seriously.

Above all, Don cherished his beloved Delores Jean, wife of 62 years, who truly was his soul mate, his Scrabble partner for LIFE. Growing up, the Stoiche children may not have always had the newest or most expensive material things, but Don and Dee always made certain that they had enough of everything that mattered most. Food for the bellies, a warm roof over the heads, faith in God. And love. More than enough love, big enough for their big family.

Don is blessedly reunited in the next life with his father James, mother Dorothy, brother Dennis, and son-in-law Steve Dean.

His memory will live on in the hearts of his wife Delores Jean; his 5 children and their spouses, Steve (Jeanne) Stoiche, Ann (Steve) Dean, Sally (John) Arnett, Tim (Holly) Stoiche, Kara (Mike) Bookmyer; his siblings and their spouses, Ron (Dorothy) Stoiche and Nancy (Ken) Allsen; his 11 grandchildren, Josh and Mike Stoiche (children of Steven); Amanda Schmitz, Kim Anema and Jen Dean (children of Ann); Janae Brown and Nick Arnett (children of Sally); Samantha and Emmy Stoiche (children of Tim); Mary Grace and Chris Bookmyer (children of Kara); his 11 great-grandchildren, friends, and additional family members.

The Stoiche so gratefully wish to thank the amazing staff of Heritage Point Fort Wayne and Heartland Hospice who cared for Don with kindness, patience, respect, and compassion.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 2 pm at D.O. McComb & Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 E Dupont Road, Fort Wayne, IN, with visitation from noon to 2 pm.

Preferred memorials to Heartland Hospice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.mccombandsons.com for the Stoiche family.